Community Empowerment Matters

  In 2017, the arts – including performance arts, museums, fine arts schools, motion pictures, photography, and more – contributed $877.8 billion to the nation’s total gross domestic product (GDP). Of that amount, performing arts companies accounted for $14 billion to the United States economy. These figures represent the significant economic value of the performing arts, which includes theater. Theater also provides an important escape from the world while teaching life lessons. Although most people think New York City is the primary home of the American theater industry, theater can be a tool for development in communities all around the country. Public theater, which can span from regional to community theater, offers accessible means to theater performances while providing opportunities to engage the local community in events and programming. Furthermore, theater can stimulate economies through investing, ticket sales, and job creation. However, theaters face substantial o...

  The Detroit metropolitan area suffers from one of the highest rates of wealth inequality in the United States. [1] In response to such concerns, Detroit voters passed in 2016 a community benefits ordinance (CBO) law for the first time in the city’s history; formalizing a set of regulations requiring developers to consult and negotiate with a local resident council to build a community consensus on infrastructural and service benefits. Building on a number of other community benefits agreements that cities around the United States began adopting in the 1990s, the Detroit law stipulates that qualifying development projects provide community benefits such as local employment opportunities, subsidized housing, public amenities and other infrastructural improvements, thereby ensuring that surrounding communities receive socioeconomic dividends from such project. This article discusses the current legal scope of the city’s CBO, enforcement challenges surrounding the ordinance, and sug...

  Introduction Creating a Community Land Trust (CLT) is a valuable way to protect land in a community through ownership of the land. The most common form of CLT provides for affordable housing   by having a CLT own land and by allowing those who want to own a home to enter into a long-term lease of the land instead of actually purchasing it. For more information on this traditional CLT model and how it is used, see other posts relating to the topic here and here . But, while providing affordable housing is one beneficial use of CLTs, many communities have alternative needs that may also be met through this model of community stewardship.   Using Community Land Trusts for Housing vs. Green Space A CLT is a nonprofit organization formed to allow the community to be the stewards of their own space. [1] The designation of “Community Land Trust” doesn’t come from creating a different form of legal entity than other nonprofits, but comes from the purpose of the organiza...

  Introduction The global spread of a novel coronavirus disease, widely known as COVID-19, took the world by surprise in early 2020. Many companies were forced to change their business models in order to adapt to the unprecedented challenges resulting from the pandemic. When the United States reopened, questions arose surrounding workforce culture. Topics such as remote work policies and childcare became top priorities for employees at all levels. While businesses consider how to address these concerns, what has become clear is the idea that “getting back to normal” no longer resonates with American workers. [1] Indeed, low-paying jobs, including those in retail and hospitality industries, have had to resort to various measures to attract and retain talent. [2] Officials are also paying attention to changes in employees’ attitudes. In June 2021, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stated that “[t]he worker shortage is real — and it's getting worse by the day.” [3] A...

  What are Community Land Trusts (CLTs)?   In the U.S., the Community Land Trust (CLT) model traces its origins to an organization called New Communities, Inc. , which used the CLT model in the American South during the 1960s to promote housing security for African American farmers. These farmers were being forced off of their land, often in retaliation for attempting to secure the right to vote.   The goal of the CLT model is to empower residents to create and control a vibrant, diverse, and high-quality neighborhood. Simply put, it’s a way to make home ownership affordable, sustainable, and accessible for generations of lower-income families.   Typically, community organizations purchase land, upon which they either build or rehabilitate houses. The organizations then form a CLT . CLTs are often governed by a board of directors made up of ⅓ housing residents, ⅓ community representatives, and ⅓ Board Members of the sponsoring community organization. Low-income...

  As COVID-19 first started to surge in March and April 2020, one unexpected consequence of the quarantine was the lack of access to barbershops. Barbershops have been the subject of government closure because of a perception that they are a non-essential business and the proximity required between barber and their customer. Apart from just providing grooming services, however, barbershops hold a unique place in many communities as central hubs for meeting and interacting with other community members. This blog post will look at the current state of barbershops by focusing on two barbershops in two different cities: Cutz Lounge The Grooming Lounge in Detroit, MI and M & K Barbershop in Queens, NY.             Dante Williams opened Cutz Lounge six years ago in Detroit. Cutz Lounge was the reincarnation of the barbershop that Williams owned in Inkster, MI. From the outset, Williams focused on delivering what he views as a v...

    Background Detroit is home to the Michigan Fairgrounds, where the Michigan State Fair, one of the oldest state fairs in the country, was held since 1905. [1] However in 2009, amid economic hardship, the Michigan government eliminated funding for the fair, and it was discontinued at that location (a privately-funded version of the fair is held elsewhere). [2] While there hasn’t been a state fair at the site since then, the fairgrounds have been a topic of controversy for some time. Without the state fair, the essentially vacant land has gone mostly unused (not counting 16-acres sold to a real estate development agency owned by Magic Johnson or the portion used as a COVID testing site). [3] While mostly empty, the storied land still houses a number of historic buildings, including the Michigan State Fair Riding Coliseum, the Dairy Cattle Building, and the Agricultural Building. [4] The great abandoned Michigan State fair Coliseum Key Stakeholders In 2012 t...