logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Nonprofit Newswire | Detroit Mayor’s Master Plan? You Tell Me

Rick Cohen
August 23, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

 

August 18, 2010; Source: Wall Street Journal | Frequently the cumulative impact of federal and state budget deficits and cutbacks get played out on municipal turf. In some cities, the turf is so destroyed that city officials can only consider radical remedies. The most extreme example of this is Detroit, where Mayor Dave Bing faces a collapsed economy and a political apparatus done in by Bing’s corrupt and convicted predecessor, Kwame Kilpatrick.

What does Bing plan to do? With the help of funding and advice from the philanthropic sector, Bing plans to “reconfigure this shrinking city” by shrinking it intentionally and thoughtfully, rather than in laissez faire haphazardness. The Mayor’s staff point out that the city faces an $85 million operating deficit at the moment, making the idea that the city can revive all neighborhoods impossible.

The mayor has to make choices.(Remember the controversies years ago over municipal government “triage” strategies in housing and community development?) Not every neighborhood can be saved, and the city needs to consolidate and demolish tens of thousands of vacant properties that make many neighborhoods appear all but unlivable.

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

For nonprofits that serve the poor people in these neighborhoods, these choices have to be wrenching, especially given Detroit’s sorry history of wiping out neighborhoods such as Poletown (to create a General Motors plant) and Black Bottom (to build Interstate 75) through urban renewal eminent domain strategies.

According to the WSJ, Detroiters are also weary of philanthropic foundations and advisors helping the mayor think through the planned shrinkage strategy, especially since the salary of the chief planner recruited by Mayor Bing for this program, Newark’s Toni Griffin, is paid for by foundation moneys.

But the plan still isn’t there, only the broad outlines. And when it comes to making things happen for the remaining residents of Detroit’s downsized neighborhoods, what funding will be available to them after cascading federal cutbacks and state and municipal deficits?—Rick Cohen

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print
About the author
Rick Cohen

Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.

More about: Nonprofit News

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
5 Land Defense Protests Around the World
Iris Crawford
Turning Toward EV Frontline Communities
Katherine Leah Pace
Muslim Women Are Reclaiming The Narrative
Anmol Irfan
How Policy Is Building a Social Economy in South Korea
Minsun Ji
Nonprofits and Movements: How Do the Two Relate?
Steve Dubb
Human-Centered Design for Behavioral Health
Sonia Sarkar

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
AOC’s “Tax the Rich” Dress Dazzles Met Gala, while...
Anastasia Reesa Tomkin
Foundation Giving Numbers for 2020 Show 15 Percent Increase
Steve Dubb
Strike MoMA Imagines Art Museums without Billionaires
Tessa Crisman

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.