March 31, 2015
Five concepts from Detroit are among the 32 winners of funding from the Knight Foundation’s Cities Challenges announced Tuesday.
An initiative of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the challenge attracted more than 7,000 ideas to make the 26 communities where Knight invests more vibrant places to live and work.
“Not only did the Knight Cities Challenge uncover a wealth of new ideas to make our cities more successful, it will help strengthen a network of civic innovators who are taking hold of the future of their cities,” said Carol Coletta, Knight Foundation vice president for community and national initiatives. “These important connections will help create a pipeline for new approaches to city transformation and spark the type of collaboration vital to growing and spreading good ideas.”
The five winners in Detroit with the amount of their awards and a brief description of their concepts are:
Brand Camp, $164,810, by Brand Camp University:
Changing the perception of poor neighborhoods by developing better branding for neighborhood businesses, including online branding.
Brick + Beam Detroit, $87,424 by Michigan Historic Preservation Network:
Creating a new community of Detroit rehabbers who will work together to combat blight and revitalize , reactivate vacant buildings and improve their city.
The Buzz, $84,055 by Detroit Future City:
Pairing barbers with landscape contractors to transform overgrown vacant lots through design workshops that teach mowing and pattern-making techniques.’
Five Detroit proposals among Knight Cities winners
John Gallagher, March 31, 2015, Detroit Free Press