EDA UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR Regional Economic Innovation

Conant Gardens as a neighborhood and community is seeing a myriad of changes take place. A once beautiful and thriving setting is now largely viewed as urban decay. Core issues concern matters of socioeconomic decline, lack of essential services, changes in dedicated...

The study area is experiencing varying levels of urban blight and deterioration brought on by years of neglect. The area is located south of Capital Region International Airport which provides many opportunities for redevelopment. Proximity to the airport and...

Underutilized lands, deteriorating facades, and a streetscape that does not support vibrant street life and walking continue to be the district's major challenges. It is driven by this that the district has difficulty in attracting investment and taking full advantage of the...

This project will address the opportunities and barriers to coordinated transfers between Land Banks and Community Land Trusts to create a pipeline of low-cost properties that could be redeveloped as permanently affordable housing or community serving placemaking amenities. National and local...

The city of Pontiac was once a major industrial center in southeast Michigan; however, the decline of manufacturing had a severe negative impact upon the city and the health, employment security and living standards of the...

There is a long-term, largely unmitigated, affordable housing crisis in the City of Detroit, with a long history of housing segregation, redlining, and their historic impact on. Focusing on the period from 2015 to 2019, data...

Vanguard Community Development is a non-profit community development corporation, founded in 1994 under the ministry of Edgar A. Vann and Second Ebenezer Church. Today, Vanguard is an independent community-based stalwart...

The Wayne County Land Bank Corporation was formed in 2006 through an agreement between the Wayne County Treasurer and the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority. The mission of the Land Bank is to return tax-foreclosed and...

This project aimed to comprehensively examine the challenges of excessive unproductive land rather than isolated and individual approaches that may or may not align with concurrent community initiatives in the East Canfield Village located on the Eastside of Detroit. Three deliverables were...

The research required multi-level and mixed methodological analysis. The project begins with gaining historical understanding of Brightmoor and NWDND, residents’ and officers’ stories (oral histories - about 10). Then work with NWDND residents and officers to construct and...

The CLOS Corridor Redevelopment Study Report is a product of Michigan State University’s Spring 2021 Semester Urban and Regional Planning Practicum class. The report examines the intersections of Cedar Street, Larch...

This study is the result of a partnership between the St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission and the Urban and Regional Planning Program at Michigan State University (MSU). Five team members of MSU's practicum...

This practicum project was conducted during the spring semester (January-April) of 2021 and is a collaboration between the Michigan State University Urban and Regional Planning Program and the City of Westland. The purpose...

Despite the heightened visibility on the inequities many people/groups are facing (notably wealth and entrepreneurship within Black and Hispanic communities), many economic development organizations (EDOs) have yet to develop a toolbox consisting of programs, collaborations, and...

This project is centered around the 1.5-mile-long Collins Road Corridor in Lansing, Michigan. There is currently a significant amount of development occurring along the corridor that will bring immense change and this project allowed the corridor to be ready for that change. Through conversation...

Improved infrastructure has a myriad of economic and social benefits. Critical infrastructure is often identified with the public utility sectors. Funding and financing are sometimes confused as means of addressing infrastructure needs. How we pay for infrastructure (taxes or user fees) matters...

This project will allow the Kettunen Center of Tustin, Michigan to gain strategies for future success. The center is currently a conference and retreat center that is owned and operated by Michigan 4-H. Their primary goal is to bring new life to the center while engaging youth on a broader scale....

This project worked to develop a neighborhood plan for all of the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan. It focused on bringing new ideas and stakeholders into the western part of this neighborhood as new development occurs in the area. Beneficial ideas for neighborhood...

This project focused on placemaking in the Village of Vicksburg in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The village features the iconic abandoned Mill at Vicksburg which is currently eager for revitalization. Students worked to make Vicksburg a destination by connecting the mill to the downtown area through a...

Michael Moreno and Nathaniel Hooper researched the efficacy of using Tiny Homes to meet the affordable housing needs of Michigan communities, and how innovative building practices can mitigate some of the negative environmental impacts of these structures. This project compared the social,...

Drawing on lessons learned from working with partners in award-winning Smart City projects in Columbus, Kansas City, Portland, Denver, and Chicago, Dr. Monberg’s work is focused on helping to build a civil society infrastructure scaled to meet the needs of the callings and opportunities...

Smart cities represent the future of urban and infrastructure development. This project aims to provide a holistic picture of the past, current, and trends of smart cities while retaining a focus on the state of Michigan. This project will focus on the electric-vehicle (EV) charging...

This Co-Learning plan will examine the implementation of municipal master plans and capital improvement plans in the context of the challenges with public infrastructure systems and the opportunities for a future blue and green economy. Statewide information will be assessed and ten municipal...

The Co-Learning Plan provides an analysis of federal, state and local policies designed to direct publicly funded infrastructure investments for strategic economic development purposes. Public policies from multiple levels of government are assessed based on factors such as geographic context,...

This was the third and final investment into the Afterhouse project. The Afterhouse premise was to convert a derelict house in a community in Detroit north of Hamtramck into a greenhouse. This particular phase was the completion of the construction of the greenhouse, and this parcel serves as a...

In collaboration with the Muskegon County Land Bank Authority, this project identified properties for blight elimination and green space, constructed zoning strategies and place making plans, and developed planning objectives for long term community stabilization.

This project facilitated discussion and meaningful conversation about the negative externalities of poverty and to identify strategies that can be used to reduce poverty in Berrien County, MI. Some of Western Michigan University’s nursing and social work students were the facilitators...

This project evaluated the feasibility of reusing abandoned property in Detroit. Afterhouse looked at the reuse of a specific abandoned structure on 3347 Burnside. A group of students, artists, architects, and faculty from University of Michigan's Taubman College deconstructed the house in...

This report examined current trends and recommendations to rejuvenate the main commercial corridor in the neighborhood.  Consisting of a socioeconomic analysis, a review of previous Brightmoor studies, an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (S.W.O.T.), a comparative...

The South Cedar Corridor has proven its significant value as an integral corridor for the city of Lansing and surrounding region. Building upon the Design Lansing comprehensive plan, this report detailed recommendations and improvements which will further increase new residential and business...

This project evaluated the feasibility of reusing abandoned property in Detroit. Afterhouse looked at the reuse of a specific abandoned structure on 3347 Burnside. A group of students, artists, architects, and faculty from University of Michigan's Taubman College deconstructed the house in...

A new ensemble-based theatre company created through original, community based theatre that creatively responds to urgent issues facing the city of Flint and surrounding communities. State of Emergency was created in the verbatim theatre style, where the script is made up of recorded interviews...

This project applied the anchor strategy to areas in Detroit outside of Midtown. The anchor strategy is the idea that large, non-profit institutions play a major role in catalyzing business development and creating "a powerful synergy with the local business community." The project...

This Co-Learning Plan examined development trends in Detroit. Since Midtown Detroit has shown signs of resilience in the face of Detroit's recent economic shortcomings, it was the focus area of this report. The report went through recent and past development in Midtown, a brief introduction...