How Partnerships Build Communities
This article
talks about the partnership between Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) and the
Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Michigan Community Revitalization
Program for two plans to rebuild parts of Detroit. One plan is to build 20 new
building that will provide housing and the other plan is to build 463 low-rise
units that will include storefronts along the river. I really liked this article because I am from Michigan and I
think we are always drawn to things from our past or childhood. I remember when I was growing up my
father would always talk about Detroit and how rundown and broken it had
become. He would always say it use
to be a place “we” as “Michiganders” could be proud of. It was a place “we” built and now it
makes me sad what it has become. I
love to see that the people of Detroit and of Michigan are starting to reinvest
in their communities.
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the Detroit article, also interesting. Detroit has been hard hit. If they can pull it off, St. Louis should be able to get it together.
ReplyDeleteYes, Detroit was very hard hit and in some ways still is. I believe that St. Louis can get it together and pull something like this off. in some ways they have already made strides in the right direction in JVL and down by Crown Candy.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting. One thing that bothers me so much in our society is how we are reactionary instead of preventive. With that being said I'm at least glad that people are investing and seeing what can be done for the future. I agree that with what Kara and Mary both said and hopefully STL will continue with initiatives like NGNS and others to support communities and revitalizes them. We have seen in the news recently many business and corporations that are now putting time and money into the Ferguson community. Better late than never. I look forward and am hopefully in the coming months to see how STL will continue hopefully on a path of healing and respect to all communities.
ReplyDeleteKylee, I totally agree with you on how reactionary instead of preventive our society is. I think that several other countries have done a really good job at implanting organizations and healthcare that is preventive based instead of reactionary based. Maybe we need to take some of their models and implement them in our society.
ReplyDeleteI think that housing is needed in the community that is definitely a plus. Kylee being more preventive is awesome. A lot of time it is easier to react or fly off the handle then actually stop and think of how to prevent or not to become a part of the problem. I was watching a video on the web and this Black woman was upset about the money being spent on housing instead of protecting the police officers of Detroit and them actually preventing crime in the city. She was furious because of the severe crime happening in Detroit and the police officers not being able to control it.
ReplyDeleteKylee, I had never really thought of our society in that way but that is absolutely true. It is interesting the things you don’t realize until someone else has pointed them out to you. Currently, I feel like the city of St. Louis has made major strides by partnering with organizations and businesses in the community. However it is interesting to wonder what would have happened if steps had been taken before the city got to the point that it is now. Would we still be in the same situation or would we have a thriving city. I hope that overall our country starts to become more preventative so that we can fix issues before they reach a level that is hard to recover from.
ReplyDeleteKylee I completely agree with you that our society is way more reactive instead of proactive. At the Children's Advocacy Center, we have many programs dedicated to treating child abuse but no preventative treatment. I honestly can't think of any places that are in place to prevent child abuse. I think that goes with any issue. Why hasn't there been more cultural training for police officers?
ReplyDeleteKara, this was a very interesting article. Thank you for sharing your personal connection. Maggie, you asked a great question that really got me thinking, "what would have happened if steps had been taken before the city got to the point that it is in now?" How different would communities and neighborhoods look if there were prevention plans and strategies put into place to prevent a community such as JVL from experiencing so many challenging issues? Why aren't preventions put into place? Is it that we don't see the issues until they are happening or don't realize that it could be an issue? Communities in St. Louis have made major improvements through partnerships with organizations and business. Through these "interventions" community organizers can use a fish bone diagram to see what the problems are and the causes to these problems. This process will help in creating prevention strategies that prevent communities from facing so many challenging issues in the future.
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