Decades ago, Detroit was known for a strong middle class with good manufacturing and blue-collar jobs. The city’s combined economic and housing strengths endured shocks as local manufacturing employment declined and subprime lending fueled a rise in foreclosures. During the foreclosure crisis, media outlets such as the Nation and the Detroit News reported that Detroit lost as much as $1.3 billion in personal wealth, and more than 100,000 Detroit homes fell into foreclosure.
As Detroit strives for economic and housing market recovery, the city’s civic and nonprofit changemakers are engaging the diversity of residents and prioritizing the needs of renters and homeowners across the income spectrum. The process has deliberately focused on inclusive recovery, which is a balancing act to attract new investments while ensuring that long-term residents can still afford to live in the city and benefit from its economic growth and revitalization.
Getting this balance right is a challenge that many recovering cities face. For Detroit, the work is bolstered by a deliberate and collaborative process led by changemakers with long-standing roots in the community. One notable changemaker is Anika Goss-Foster, executive director of Detroit Future City (DFC), a think tank, policy advocate, and innovation engine founded on the principles of inclusion, community, and the development of data-driven strategies.
[For more on this story by Janae Ladet, go to https://howhousingmatters.org/...-housing-leadership/]
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