The Villages : News from Detroit

The Detroit Narrative Agency will give up to 12 grants for moving image projects for Detroiters telling their story. 

Now in its sixth year, Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest rewards entrepreneurs on the path to opening brick-and-mortar storefronts in either Detroit, Highland Park, or Hamtramck with a $50,000 cash prize and a number of other benefits. 

On April 20, the New Economy Initiative kicked-off the third and final year of the NEIdeas challenge, "a two-tiered challenge awarding $500,000 to existing small businesses in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park for their ideas to grow."

As recently as 2009, metro Detroit experienced the largest population losses in the country. In 2015, the region grew, albeit modestly.

There are four major award categories for which business and property owners can apply for a share of $500,000 in grant funding.

Last year, Motor City Muckraker's Steve Neavling focused his attention on the struggles of the Detroit Fire Department to great effect. This year he's turning his attention to education in Detroit.

Twenty of the 158 Knight Cities Challenge finalists are Detroit-based projects. The winners will be announced later this spring.

Karren Timmermann identified the need for a food inventory app when trying to launch her own salsa company.

Sushi, wine, charcuterie, flowers, and lofts are coming together under one roof in West Village.

Officials say roughly 350 bikes and 35 bike stations will be scattered throughout greater downtown.

It's been another busy month for development news in the city of Detroit. Let's catch up on some of the biggest stories from the past four weeks.

As the city of Detroit makes it easier for residents to purchase vacant lots in their neighborhoods, the Detroit Future City Implementation Office has developed a field guide for residents that informs them how to transform the empty land into neighborhood resources.

"Once you prove yourself in the field you are accepted in the field," Swift says. "But there are still some social dogmas that make it hard to feel comfortable."