The
Power to the Community project is a power-shift from the Detroit city
government to the people of the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood in order to
grant them agency over their future and help them to manage and utilize excess
rainwater to keep their community afloat.
The
Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood is an area that is heavily affected by an
increase in annual rainfall and is the target of the Detroit city government
for prospective beautification and revitalization. The city government’s plans
to redevelop this neighborhood despite the pleas and struggles of the current
residents could ultimately lead to the residents being pushed out of their
homes, or “swept away with the tide” as they put it, in the near future. This project is a power-shift from the Detroit city government to the people of the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood in order to grant them agency over their future and help them to manage and utilize excess rainwater to keep their community afloat. Strategic urban planning, rehab of abandoned neighborhood homes and the implementation of grey water/ collection and recycling systems into both existing and future homes will be at the center of this operation, with the community members themselves as the force to drive it!
Local maker spaces introduced to the neighborhood will enable community members to compile, learn and share essential skills and knowledge so that they may develop the agency to build and update their blocks and homes without requiring exterior assistance. A public trail also winds its way through the neighborhood, stretching from the far end of the community all the way to the edge of East Jefferson and Conners Street, where the Jefferson Chalmers area and the East Jefferson Fiat-Chrysler Plant meet. A parking lot owned by the plant exists here that sits within the neighborhood boundaries, creating a shared space. A community market exists at this location to foster a strong relationship between the neighborhood and Fiat-Chrysler inlight of the community benefits funding from the plant’s recent expansion, which makes this entire project possible!