June 30, 2015
DFC’s “New Urban Places” Collaboration in its 11th Month
The DFC Implementation Office, community+public arts: Detroit (CPAD), The Greening of Detroit, and community residents are 11 months into their two year ‘New Urban Places’ collaboration to transform vacant and underutilized spaces in four Detroit neighborhoods into public arts projects with a substantial green infrastructure component that address unique community needs as identified through monthly meetings.
CPAD facilitated visual brainstorming activities, discussions of neighborhood challenges and opportunities, and presented artwork from a roster of local artists. The community heard how the citywide DFC Strategic Framework’s data, strategies and actions could help inform their projects at a neighborhood scale, and how they could be neighborhood leaders of implementing the Framework. The Greening of Detroit has brought their expertise in urban planting, gardening and community engagement to the project development so the green infrastructure can help the land ‘work’ for the neighborhoods.
The residents in each community have selected by popular vote the artists that would best fulfill their vision, and are assisting them further in developing the projects and deciding where it should be sited within the community.