Building A More Resilient Detroit – Detroitisit

Report on Detroit’s Sustainable Urban Development Strategy

Introduction: Aligning Urban Renewal with Global Sustainability Goals

Detroit is actively positioning itself as a leader in sustainable urban design and resilient infrastructure. The Sustainable Urban Design Summit (SUDS), supported by partners like the Gilbert Family Foundation, serves as a critical platform for advancing this agenda. This report outlines the city’s strategic approach to redevelopment, with a significant emphasis on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The insights are primarily drawn from an analysis of the work and perspective of Darnell Adams, Vice President of Detroit Community Initiatives at the Gilbert Family Foundation.

Core Strategies for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities & SDG 13: Climate Action

Detroit’s history of population decline and large-scale demolition presents a unique opportunity to rebuild in alignment with modern sustainability principles. The city’s strategy focuses on creating resilient infrastructure that is responsive to current climate realities.

• Climate Resilience: Acknowledging the increased frequency of extreme weather events, such as major floods, the city is prioritizing infrastructure that can mitigate climate impacts. This directly supports SDG 13 (Climate Action).
• Green Infrastructure Development: There is a concerted effort to reimagine vacant land and rebuild the city’s once-extensive tree canopy. This strategy addresses environmental health issues like urban heat islands and improves stormwater management, contributing to SDG 11.
• Community Health and Well-being: By incorporating green infrastructure like retention ponds into public parks, the city is taking tangible steps to prevent flooding and improve the quality of life for residents, a key target of SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure & SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Technology and collaboration are central to Detroit’s vision for a sustainable future. The city is leveraging its identity as a hub for innovation to pioneer next-generation urban systems.

• Technological Integration: Detroit is exploring advanced solutions for mobility, transit, and infrastructure, avoiding the high cost of replicating outdated systems. This forward-looking approach is a hallmark of SDG 9.
• Data-Driven Environmental Justice: A key example of SDG 17 in action is the partnership between the East Side Community Network and JustAir. This collaboration uses technology to monitor neighborhood air quality, empowering residents with data to advocate for environmental justice and hold institutions accountable.
• Multi-Sector Collaboration: The Gilbert Family Foundation emphasizes that 99% of its work is achieved through partnerships with the City of Detroit, nonprofits, and community coalitions. This collaborative model is essential for integrating sustainability across all sectors, from stormwater management to economic development.

Fostering Equity and Economic Opportunity

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities & SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

A core principle of Detroit’s sustainability plan is that its benefits must be shared equitably among all residents. The focus is on an inclusive model that intersects environmental restoration with economic empowerment and social justice.

1. Community-Led Design: Projects like the Joe Louis Greenway exemplify an inclusive planning process where resident input directly shapes the design and function of public spaces. This ensures that development meets community needs and fosters a sense of ownership, directly addressing SDG 10.
2. Green Job Creation: Partnerships with organizations like The Greening of Detroit create direct pathways to employment. By training residents as “tree artisans” for roles with utility companies, the city links environmental improvement with economic opportunity, fulfilling a key objective of SDG 8.
3. Equitable Redevelopment: Learning from the challenges of other cities, such as displacement caused by the Atlanta BeltLine, Detroit is focused on implementing equitable development strategies from the outset to ensure that revitalization benefits long-term residents.

Conclusion: A Model for Sustainable Reinvention

Detroit’s approach to urban renewal is deeply integrated with the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals. By leveraging its unique assets, such as available land for green innovation, and fostering a strong culture of collaboration, the city is creating a comprehensive model for sustainable development. The emphasis on community engagement, technological innovation, and equitable outcomes ensures that Detroit’s growth is not only environmentally resilient but also socially and economically inclusive.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The article connects sustainability directly to human health. It mentions creating “healthier, more inclusive communities” and protecting “people’s health” from environmental hazards. Specific issues like “hotter neighborhoods,” “contaminated soils,” and poor “air quality” are identified as environmental health risks that sustainable design aims to mitigate.

2. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • The article addresses water-related challenges, particularly flooding and stormwater management. It highlights solutions like Detroit’s parks incorporating “retention ponds and green infrastructure to manage runoff and prevent flooding,” which is a direct effort to protect and manage water-related ecosystems and build resilience against water-related disasters.

3. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • The article discusses how sustainability initiatives can lead to economic opportunity and job creation. It provides a specific example of “creating pathways to jobs” through partnerships that train “residents as ‘tree artisans’,” linking environmental improvement with local employment and economic prosperity.

4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Equity is a central theme. The article emphasizes that “Every Detroiter should benefit from the city’s sustainability goals” and highlights the importance of building “with equity from the start” to avoid issues like displacement, which was a lesson learned from Atlanta’s BeltLine project. This addresses the goal of promoting social and economic inclusion for all residents.

5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • This is the most prominent SDG in the article. The entire discussion revolves around making Detroit a sustainable and resilient city through “sustainable design,” “resilient infrastructure,” and reimagining vacant land. It emphasizes inclusive urban planning (“planners and developers are listening more intentionally to residents”) and the creation of green public spaces like the “Joe Louis Greenway.”

6. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • The article explicitly focuses on “climate resilience” as a key driver for Detroit’s reinvention. It references the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, such as the “2021 floods,” and the need to rebuild infrastructure to be “more resilient, and more responsive to our climate realities.”

7. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • The article repeatedly stresses the critical role of collaboration. Darnell Adams states, “Partnerships are everything,” and describes how the Gilbert Family Foundation works in “collaboration with other organizations, whether that’s the City of Detroit, local nonprofits, or community coalitions.” This highlights the multi-stakeholder partnerships necessary for achieving sustainable development.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Target 3.9: Substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

   • This target is addressed through efforts to clean up “brownfield sites” with “contaminated soils” and the partnership with JustAir to “monitor neighborhood air quality,” both aimed at mitigating environmental health risks.

2. Target 6.6: By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes.

   • The article points to this target by describing actions to rebuild Detroit’s “tree canopy” and implement “green infrastructure to manage runoff,” which help restore natural systems to manage water and prevent flooding.

3. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.

   • The initiative to train “residents as ‘tree artisans'” who can then secure “line worker roles with companies like DTE” is a direct example of creating pathways to productive employment through green initiatives.

4. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

   • This is reflected in the goal to ensure “Every Detroiter should benefit” and the emphasis on learning from other cities to “build with equity from the start” to prevent displacement, thereby promoting inclusive development.

5. Target 11.3: By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries.

   • The article highlights this target by describing how projects like the “Joe Louis Greenway… evolved through community input” and how “planners and developers are listening more intentionally to residents,” indicating a shift towards participatory urban planning.

6. Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities.

   • The development of the “Joe Louis Greenway,” a project shaped by community input to determine how it “looks, feels, and functions,” is a direct effort to create an accessible and inclusive public green space.

7. Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

   • The focus on “climate resilience” in response to repeated “once-in-500-year floods” and the goal to “rebuild our infrastructure in a way that’s smarter, more resilient” directly aligns with this target.

8. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.

   • The article’s core message that “Partnerships are everything” and its examples of “collaboration between public, private, and philanthropic sectors” and partnerships between nonprofits and tech organizations (East Side Community Network and JustAir) directly reflect this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Air Quality Data

   • The article explicitly mentions the use of technology to “monitor neighborhood air quality.” The data collected by JustAir serves as a direct indicator for measuring air pollution levels and progress towards Target 3.9.

2. Frequency and Impact of Climate-Related Disasters

   • The statement that Detroit has experienced “several ‘once-in-500-year’ floods in just the last decade” serves as an anecdotal but powerful indicator of the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, relevant to measuring the need for resilience under Target 13.1.

3. Number of People Trained in Green Jobs

   • The program that is “training residents as ‘tree artisans'” provides a clear, quantifiable indicator for measuring progress in creating green jobs and economic opportunities, as outlined in Target 8.5.

4. Area of Public Green Space Developed

   • The creation of the “Joe Louis Greenway” is a tangible project whose size (length and area) can be measured as an indicator of progress towards providing access to green public spaces (Target 11.7).

5. Number and Type of Green Infrastructure Projects

   • The mention of incorporating “retention ponds and green infrastructure” in city parks is an indicator that can be quantified by counting the number of such projects implemented to measure progress in sustainable water management (Target 6.6).

6. Level of Community Participation in Planning

   • While not a hard number, the article implies this indicator by describing how the Joe Louis Greenway “evolved through community input” and that residents “shaped how it looks, feels, and functions.” This suggests that the extent and impact of resident engagement can be qualitatively assessed as a measure of inclusive planning (Target 11.3).

4. SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Summary

Source: detroitisit.com