Press Releases

Press Releases

DFC Appoints Director to Run its Center for Equity, Engagement and Research

June 15, 2020

DETROIT – Detroit Future City (DFC) has named Ashley Williams Clark as the director of its recently formed Center for Equity, Engagement and Research (The Center). Clark’s appointment to this […]

Detroit Future City Seeking Applicants for Vacant Land Revitalization Grants

February 18, 2020

DETROIT – Detroit Future City (DFC) is offering grants to transform vacant land in Detroit into intentional and well-maintained landscapes as part of its fifth annual Working with Lots Program. […]

DFC Opens Center to Advance Economic Equity in Detroit, Region

January 22, 2020

Detroit Future City Opens Center to Advance Economic Equity in Detroit, Region “Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research” Launches with Announcement Event   DETROIT – Detroit Future City (DFC) is […]

Detroit Future City to host Working with Lots “Best Practices” Workshop During Detroit Design 139’s Month of Design

September 9, 2019

Working with Lots program and four Detroit-based organizations to share secrets to vacant land transformation success DETROIT—Detroit Future City (DFC) will host a free learning workshop at the Alger Theater […]

Detroit Future City Awards Fourth Year of Grants to Help Detroiters Revitalize Vacant Land and Hosts Working with Lots Convening

March 27, 2019

Detroit Future City awarded nine Detroit-based grassroots organizations with $97,000 in grants to support the implementation of lot designs from the Field Guide to Working with Lots. As a celebration and kick-off session to welcome grantees, DFC hosted a Working with Lots Convening on March 26, where this year’s cohort will get to know each other and begin planning their projects.

Detroit Future City Releases “Growing Detroit’s African-American Middle Class” Data Report

February 17, 2019

Detroit Future City (DFC) announced today the release of “Growing Detroit’s African-American Middle Class,” a comprehensive data report supporting attraction, retention and growth strategies to restore a demographic that once defined the city.  The report is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund at the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan. As the city continues to experience a revitalization, “Growing Detroit's African-American Middle Class” provides a benchmark through which the African-American middle class can serve as a measure to track equitable growth. The report is a continuation of DFC’s commitment to providing accessible, data-driven strategies dedicated to moving the city forward, and stems from the 2017 release of its “139 Square Miles” report.

Detroit Strategic Framework

The DFC Strategic Framework, a shared vision for Detroit’s future, is the result of a massive, citywide public-engagement effort. It recommends a series of ideas, strategies and approaches on how to best use the city’s abundance of land, create job growth and economic prosperity, ensure vibrant neighborhoods, build an infrastructure that serves citizens at a reasonable cost, and maintain the high level of community engagement integral to the long-term revitalization of Detroit.
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The Field Guide to Working with Lots

The Field Guide to Working with Lots is a user-friendly tool to connect Detroit residents, businesses, and institutions to resources to learn, collaborate, and better practice land stewardship in Detroit. This step-by-step guide provides readers with instructions on how to transform vacant land in their neighborhoods into 38 landscape designs ranging from installation by beginning gardeners to professional contractors. View the interactive guide now.
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The State of Economic Equity

Detroit Future City’s (DFC) report, “The State of Economic Equity in Detroit,” illustrates the deep disparities that persist in Detroit and provides recommendations that provide a path to an economically equitable Detroit in which all Detroiters are meeting their unique needs, prospering, and fully and fairly participating in all aspects of economic life within a thriving city and region.
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