Downtown : Features

The group, which aims to strenghen the local business community, is partnering with Bamboo Detroit on this event, held Feb. 17, 6 p.m. at Cliff Bell's in downtown Detroit. Here's a preview.

Gov. Snyder is the keynote speaker at this high level international gala at Cobo Center. It's a celebration of the Chinese Year of the Horse, historically a good time to forge new business relationships.

Public officials and developers across the region are preparing to reap the economic potential of functional transit, something many cities across the country have already done. How it gets done in Detroit is critical to its success, writes Nina Ignaczak.

We welcome back Kelli Kavanaugh, Model D's former development news editor and now East Riverfront bicycle entrepreneur, who will be writing about cycling in the city over the coming months. First up: all you needed to know about bike sharing but were afraid to ask. 

Only seven days left to get the rest of your holiday shopping on and, thanks to a growing number of creative urban entrepreneurs, your options are increasing. Nicole Rupersburg compiles a list of places you need to go.

Cliff Bell's was packed with people interested hearing a panel of experts involved in the world of "Loca-vesting," or sourcing funding locally from companies and individuals located in the same community. Matthew Lewis reports from the crowd.

Essayist Keith Owens says Detroit needs to polish off its 'international gold standard' as a music city and re-emerge as a creative powerhouse to rival Memphis and New Orleans, at the very least. Let's start by helping to keep local talent in the city, he says. 

We're excited to partner again with the Revitalization and Business Conference on Dec. 6. Presented by the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, "IdeaLab" is a fast-paced, two-hour session with a stellar line-up of Detroit innovators.

Living without a car has never been easy in Detroit. But with Zipcar’s recent launch of a fleet of 40 vehicles across the city, the car-free dream just got a little easier. Nina Ignaczak looks at how the program works, Marvin Shaouni shows us visual proof.

Join Model D partner Open City and moderator Craig Fahle from WDET 101.9 FM Monday Nov. 18 for a discussion on alternate ways of raising capital for small business. The talk begins at 6 p.m. at Cliff Bell's in downtown Detroit. 

Our friends at Open City will be hosting a talk on a new tool to help navigate the local business landscape and to aid entrepreneurs in building relationships. Model D is pleased to be a partner for this event, held Oct. 21 at Cliff Bell's.

This year's riders surpassed last year's total by 500. Proceeds from the Tour and other biking events held by the non-profit organization support the planning and implementation of greenways across the City of Detroit. Nina Ignaczak recaps.

One of the messages of this two-day event, which examined the impact of federal incentives on the city's revitalization, is that there are tools and subsidies available to make these projects possible. Timothy Boscarino digs deeper in this report.

Join us Friday, Sept. 27 at the Park Bar in downtown Detroit to culminate this year's Transportation Odyssey with a special happy hour and conversation about "outside the box" thinking to better connect our city, region and state.

A dozen years after forming, the Tour de Troit has evolved from a small, leisurely group ride into an annual juggernaut attracting over 5,000 cyclists. Nina Ignaczak recaps the history and looks ahead as the organization forms a nonprofit to fund greenways.