Downtown : Features

As we celebrate a decade of publishing in Detroit, we look back on the growth of the city's urban agriculture movement in recent years.

As a part of our "10 Years of Change" series, we revisit this piece from 2008 in which Terry Parris, Jr. reflects on his experience of going carless for a month in the Motor City. What he learned might surprise you.

Bold and forward-looking when it opened in December 2005, the Boll Family YMCA continues to lead by architectural example as the central business district burgeons around it.

Detroit grows stronger with contributions from women in science, technology, engineering, and math fields.

With a shortage of workers looming, a Detroit program could prove a national template for developing the healthcare workforce of the future.

In just a decade, Detroit has grown from a city lacking non-motorized transportation options to one with a growing infrastructure for cycling and walking and a nascent bike culture.

Beuhlah Croxford is a name unfamiliar to most Detroiters, yet her legacy as an advocate of historic preservation is visible in buildings and neighborhoods across the city.

Last month, Forward Cities, a national learning collaborative among four cities undergoing transformation, held a convening in Detroit. 

From June 24-26, over 200 business and community leaders from four cities are gathering in Detroit to discuss how to increase entrepreneurial activity and connectivity in distressed neighborhoods so that the local innovation economy does not leave anyone behind.

Do you believe in the power of small business to restore community? If so, you might be a localist. Here are three simple suggestions for how to contribute to the localist movement in a meaningful, holistic way.

As downtown Detroit's office space attracts growing companies with lifestyle amenities, can suburban communities keep up?

Employees of anchor institutions like Henry Ford Health System and Wayne State University are driving demand for housing the greater downtown area. The institutions themselves are responding with purposeful investment in housing and neighborhood infrastructure.

While startups encounter many stumbling blocks, local food entrepreneurs have a lot to be thankful for; Detroit is chock-full of resources to help new and growing food businesses.

Walk Score just released its rankings of America's most walkable cities. The list contained good news for Motor City pedestrians: Detroit's Walk Score is up 2.2 points since 2011.

Over the next year, we will identify the fastest-growing local companies and tell you the behind-the-scenes stories of the entrepreneurs, investors, and the resources that are building Michigan's new economy.