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

Nonprofit Newswire | Detroit’s New Nickname: ‘Do-it-Yourself City’

Bruce S Trachtenberg
July 7, 2010
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

July 6, 2010; Source: Wall Street Jounal | If this trend continues, Detroit may be better known as the “do-it-yourself city” rather than its former moniker, “Motor City.” In the face of a shrinking city budget, individual volunteers as well as nonprofit organizations are taking on the responsibility for everything from maintaining public parks to boarding up vacant homes. In fact, if Detroit didn’t have an army of volunteers ready to take on some responsibilities, park spaces alone would be in serious jeopardy.

As the Wall Street Journal notes, earlier this year the Detroit City Council considered closing a large number of parks. But the funds to keep them open were restored only because the city knows it can count on individuals and groups to do most of the maintenance. One example of a community- and city-maintained public space is the 30-acre Clark Park, located on Detroit’s Southwest Side. A nonprofit, community group, the Clark Park Coalition—one of many in Detroit—partners with the city on the park’s upkeep.

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.

The Journal reports that, as a result, “Clark Park has playgrounds, fencing, baseball and softball fields, an ice hockey rink, and a recreation center.” While the city is responsible for utilities—cutting grass and collecting the garbage—the Clark Park Coalition “pours hundreds of dollars in donations” into play ground maintenance, and providing activities for youth ranging from summer camps to recreational sports leagues. This outpouring of public spirit seems the best antidote to avoiding the fate in Joni Mitchell’s famous lyric: “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”— Bruce Trachtenberg

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

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

summer_sidebar_subscribe
You might also like
What is Climate Psychology? An Interview with Climate Psychology Alliance’s Rebecca Weston
Rebecca Weston and Iris M. Crawford
Ruling on Affirmative Action Could Affect Hiring
Isaiah Thompson
The Great Integration Question
Saphia Suarez
Preserving Places of Belonging in Asian America: The Value of Community Voice
Seema Agnani
Economic Justice: Nonprofit Leaders Speak Out
Dr. Akilah Watkins, Nelson I. Colón, Jon Pratt, Marla Bilonick, Clara Miller, Seema Agnani and Gary L. Cunningham
What Can a COVID Outbreak at a Writing Conference Teach Us about Community Care?
Alison Stine

NPQ Webinars

Oct 5th and 6th, 2:00 PM ET

Mastering QuickBooks 2023

Advanced QuickBooks for Nonprofits for Online Users

Register Now
Oct 26th, 2:00 PM ET

Becoming A Great Manager

How to Conspire and Align with the People You Lead

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.

Summer 2023 issue

Independent & in your mailbox.

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

subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Funders
  • Magazine Art

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.