Discovering and applying new and innovative economic development tools, models, policies, and programs
Creating Jobs and Wealth in Distressed Michigan Communities
Randy A. Yagiela
The Align Center aims to offer financial empowerment and training programs in a shared space for various organizations, but also fosters a collaborative culture focused on unified client pathways and employer-centric workforce certification. The project's goals are to create a unified resource center that addresses the gap in workforce training and local career development, especially for nontraditional clients overlooked by existing resources like MI Works. The leadership team, with a deep understanding of the intertwining of housing, transportation, and community needs, brings a holistic approach to workforce development. The project's economic impact is expected to be significant, with plans for a specialized campus catering to employer-specific skill needs, thereby generating living-wage jobs and attracting public/private investments. In summary, the Align Center project represents a comprehensive effort to revitalize a struggling community by integrating education, training, and economic development, with a focus on creating sustainable and equitable opportunities for the residents of Adrian and Lenawee County.
Robert Carson, AICP and Zachary Vega
This is a case study of four Michigan Works! program services in Northwest Lower Michigan. This study will provide a comprehensive review of the program’s small business development services and their impact in statistically underserved communities through descriptive statistical analyses and stakeholder interviews. The researchers will identify the regional referral methods that client small businesses have found most effective in their development, develop a survey instrument that identifies program strengths, areas for improvement, and financial impact, and how these methods could be replicated throughout Michigan. While Michigan Works! has been around since 1996, there are very few analyses of its overall effect on small business referrals from a regional perspective. Research into the programs would help to identify strengths and weaknesses and could help other regional entities such as chambers of commerce, county governments, and industry leaders to potentially replicate the programs’ referral methods. These best practices would be influential in helping distressed local communities build their economic bases.
David Palmer
Even though state licensed appraisers play a critical role in Michigan’s residential real estate market, there appears to be very little known about those individuals who are licensed. National fair housing organizations paint the occupation with a broad brush stating over 95% are older white males and there appears to be no initiative to recruit and develop diverse talent into the occupation. The State of Michigan has little to say about this observation. Acknowledging decades of consistent appraisal valuation challenges in the City of Detroit for residential homes, and a long history of racial discrimination in housing, this paper will use public data to detail what is publicly known about licensed appraisers in Michigan in the period from 1990 to 2022. With information available and in the open, this important regulated occupation can be better studied and analyzed to determine if appraisers reflect the communities served or determine if what national fair housing organizations claim is true for the US is also true, specifically in Michigan.
Adil Mohammed and Phyllis Sykes
The International Center of Greater Flint (ICGF) CLP proposes to develop a community grassroots outreach process to create a strategic vision and implementation plan for a Global Flint Initiative (GFI). GFI is an economic and community revitalization strategy that focuses on attracting and retaining international talent by becoming a Welcoming Community. The proposed needs assessment will involve an extensive immigrant groups outreach to conduct focus groups, interviews and surveys throughout the region over several months. The goal is to collect data to document the true assessment of this population. In addition to reaching out to the immigrant population, the same method will be implemented with Flint’s native population. This initiative plans to foster a welcoming environment for international talent in Flint, engaging immigrant groups and native residents to build a cohesive and economically resilient community.
Melissa Davis
This Co-Learning Plan project seeks to reverse the habitual outsourcing of dollars back to the main streets of Houghton and Keweenaw counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where many locally-owned businesses have gradually shuttered throughout the last five decades. It proposes to introduce people to crowd-capitalization, build infrastructure for large community conversations, and use knowledge gained to establish a local Diversified Community Investment Fund.
Carolyn G. Loh
Part I
The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Code of Ethics calls upon all practitioners to “incorporate equity principles and strategies as the foundation for preparing plans and implementation programs to achieve more socially just decision-making.” However, the reality of planning with equity in mind is complicated. Some planners work in communities that broadly support equity goals; others do not. Some planners work in communities with the resources to create major public investments, while other planners must try to improve equity in very under-resourced communities. Planners in private practice must balance their own principles with the need to retain clients, who may have their own priorities. Increasing the emphasis on social equity in urban and regional planning is a core goal of both the academic association (ACSP) and the professional association (APA) of planners in the US. In Michigan, the Social Equity Committee of the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP), the Michigan State chapter of the American Planning Association, has in recent years conducted research on how local governments are incorporating equity goals into their comprehensive plans. This Student-Led Faculty Guided project seeks to identify attitudes toward and knowledge gaps about equity among practicing planners to help direct future research efforts.
Part II
Part two of this project relates to the extensive responses received to the open-ended questions on the initial survey. Additional qualitative analysis beyond the original scope of the project will allow for a more thorough investigation of the remaining two research questions: What do planners think equity means? And what types of equity policies have Michigan communities adopted?
This project seeks to contribute to the conversation around what equity means in different contexts in Michigan and how planners can help their communities adopt more equitable policies.
Rayman Mohamed
This SLFG project will work with the 8 Mile Boulevard Association to conduct an analysis of the potential for economic development on both sides of the Southfield/Detroit and Oak Park/Detroit borders. The key elements of the project and corresponding plan will include: Development of a database of potential redevelopment sites; Uniform design guideline recommendations; Recommendations for improved public transportation infrastructure; Survey of current business owners and residents on existing conditions.
Oliver Gomez, Harrison Hill, Vivian Morales, Garrett Young, Havien Gibson
The Ladybug Center at Churchill Gardens in Lansing, MI, aims to transform into a regenerative development, addressing environmental challenges exacerbated by Michigan's automotive industry. This project aims to go beyond sustainability by actively eliminating carbon and achieving a net-zero future. Focused on regenerative agriculture and housing, the community project aims to improve soil health, reduce waste, mitigate climate change, and enhance economic and social well-being. The proposed development includes single-family homes, apartments, retail space, a farm, and community gardens, designed in an ecovillage format on 8-12 acres in southwest Lansing. The project aims to measure its impact through quantifiable carbon credits and compliance with climate action project standards.
Joseph Allen, Tony Nikolovski, Anne Dudley, Joseph Kidd, Dan Wilson
The City of Flint adopted the Imagine Flint Master Plan in 2013, which led to the development of neighborhood plans in subsequent years. One such plan was for the Civic Park Neighborhood (2019), home to the historic Civic Park subdivision, recognized as one of the first planned subdivisions in America. Originally established for plant workers in Flint, the neighborhood experienced a rapid decline following the closure of the automotive industry and the subsequent departure of workers from the area. This study aims to build upon the existing neighborhood plan, particularly focusing on economic development and identifying historic business corridors. The goal is to delve deeper, update, and envision how these plans can be brought to fruition. Vacant corridors within the Flint community present untapped opportunities for transformation. These corridors offer significant potential for development. Thus, this study aims to create a welcoming and attractive space that can benefit both residents and local businesses in the Flint area.
Thomas Boss, Sommer Nafal, Gaurav Sagvekar, Tyler Schewe, Josh Shelton
The North Gateway Project Goal is to embark on a catalytic project by which momentum can be brought to this site via creative ways to honor the history of this region, provide visionary ways to redevelop this property via mixed uses of housing and retail/commercial spaces, and gain support for line-item funding for blight elimination/demolition of all or some of the remaining silos on this site.
Bresgath Ayomi, Khayci Bryant, Noah Jones, Gabriela Miagany
The City of Utica, a small community in west-central Macomb County, faces unique development challenges, including brownfield sites and a lack of cohesive development along Auburn Road. In collaboration with the Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development, Utica is launching a comprehensive effort involving local government, community organizations, businesses, and residents. The focus is on completing a Comprehensive Master Plan update and creating a sub-area plan for the Downtown District to address issues such as vacant parcels, automotive and industrial uses, and empty storefronts. The primary goal is to enhance the overall quality of life, economic vitality, and attractiveness of the downtown area, with considerations for the potential relocation of municipal buildings to facilitate mixed-use development.
Andrew Arbaugh, Hannah Prins, Jordan Swiler, Herlin Rumar, Rolinof Wanma
As part of the planned 2024 Master Plan update, the City of East Lansing seeks to engage all members of the community, including MSU students living on- and off-campus. The objective is to design and implement an engagement strategy to accomplish this goal.
Escarleth Cucurachi Ortega, Monica Guo, Peyton Jackson, Charlotte Peterson, Paige Smith
The MorningSide neighborhood on Detroit’s east side is well positioned to receive significant funding to upgrade its aging single-family housing stock. To receive such funding, a professional analysis of current housing conditions and needs is required. Three area nonprofit organizations, U-SNAP-BAC Nonprofit Housing Corporation, Habitat for Humanity Detroit and the MorningSide Community Organization have joined forces to request assistance from MSU students in the Urban and Regional Planning Program.
Exterior building conditions of vacant and occupied houses across the 190-block neighborhood can be surveyed and compared to previous condition studies such as the Detroit Residential Parcel Survey. Interior home repair needs can be estimated through resident interviews (random sampling), email questionnaires and focus groups.
Jelili Adebiyi, PhD
The increasing global plastic production, projected to reach 1,124 million tons by 2050, poses significant sustainability challenges. The environmental consequences include massive economic losses, with 80-120 billion dollars lost annually globally due to short single-use plastic cycles. Despite efforts to address the issue, a substantial amount of plastic, both globally and in the United States, ends up in landfills, contributing to pollution and ecosystem losses. Stakeholders, including governments, scientists, and the public, have taken actions to mitigate plastic-related issues. However, there remains a crucial need for extensive consumer education on plastic sustainability, recycling practices, and reduced single-use consumption. The proposed research project aims to address these gaps by conducting a case study on consumer plastic behaviors in Marquette, Michigan, exploring factors influencing plastic consumption, reuse, and recycling knowledge and behaviors. The study would be undertaken in collaboration with Recycle906, Marquette County solid waste management authority. The findings from the study will be used to propose recommendations on how the plastic consumption footprint in Marquette can be reduced.
Jelili Adebiyi, PhD
More than 108 billion pounds of food is wasted in the U.S. yearly, causing enormous economic loss and negative enviro-climatic impact. Most wasted food ends in landfills and is a major source of methane emissions in the U.S. Universities and colleges across the country are major food wasters. This presents circular economic opportunities for food waste diversion from landfills and repurposing into organic material for improved soil health and agricultural productivity. This project addresses this as it explores the opportunities for the diversion of food waste that is generated at Northern Michigan University dining to produce vermicompost.
MSU Student Filmmakers and recent graduates, guided by School of Journalism Faculty Geri Alumit Zeldes and Troy Hale.
This SLFG project will create a documentary film that will be an epilogue to The Kings of Flint" (2011) and "Flint River Farm” (2012). The crew will interview Dora King of King’s Youth Karate-Ka studio and Urban Farm and Roxanne Adair of Flint River Farm” the central characters of these two films. The new film will make clear the legacies of those pioneering farmers and how they influence the newer farmers in the city. Like the previous films, this new documentary will explore environmental justice, the human right to fresh food and how farming builds community. The films, released two years before the Flint Water Crisis that began in 2014, showed the early challenges and achievements the urban farmers in Flint faced. With the Water Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in the rear-view mirror, what new challenges lay deep in the soil?
The film tells the story of urban farming in Flint hit hard by the Water Crisis and the COVID pandemic that further ravaged a city already devastated by the economy. This film, like the films released prior to the Flint Water Crisis, will frame the urban farming movement as a potential “sustainable infrastructure” for a city built on the automobile. Farming is a vehicle for economic development and a model of a circular economy that begins with planting, harvest, use, composting and regeneration.