To help produce more welcome, meaningful, effective investments in and around Detroit, U-M’s Detroit Metropolitan Area Communities Study (DMACS) aims to gather and disseminate “timely, relevant intel on Detroit public opinion.” Professor Elisabeth Gerber is a research lead with the project. DMACS researchers survey Detroit residents three times a year about issues ranging from the economy to transportation to the built environment. Recent surveys have assessed the impact of investments, residential mobility, policy priorities, and perceptions of crime.
Among the key findings, the survey found that 40 percent of Detroiters believe that people who recently moved to Detroit are the ones benefiting most from investments in Downtown and Midtown Detroit. Improving public education was named as the top priority for residents, with seven in ten respondents ranking that goal among their top three options.
Read survey results at umdetroitsurvey.org
Below is a formatted version of this article from State & Hill, the magazine of the Ford School. View the entire Winter 2019 State & Hill.