Detroit Metro Area Communities Study

Core faculty

Jeffrey D. Morenoff

Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement, Professor of Public Policy and Sociology

Morenoff's research interests include neighborhood environments, inequality, crime and criminal justice, the social determinants of health, racial/ethnic/immigrant disparities in health and antisocial behavior, and methods for analyzing multilevel and spatial data.

Staff

Yucheng Fan

Data Manager, Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS)

Staff

Sharon Sand

Project Lead, DMACS

Sharon Sand manages the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS), an initiative designed to regularly survey a broad, representative group of Detroit residents about their communities, including their experiences, perceptions, priorities, and asp...

Publication

Immigration enforcement fears are reshaping daily life for Michigan immigrants, U-M study finds

May 19, 2026

A new report documents widespread immigration enforcement fears among immigrant Michiganders in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids and Ypsilanti.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge with the words 'ICE' in the background

News

Detroiters cautious about government use of AI, U-M survey finds

Mar 24, 2026

Many Detroiters are still making up their minds about potential government use of artificial intelligence, with 41% of city residents reporting neutral views or uncertainty on whether AI's benefits to society outweigh its risks.

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State & Hill

DMACS marks 10 years of listening to Detroiters for shared impact

Dec 8, 2025

The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) celebrates 10 years of amplifying Detroiters’ voices—over 5,000 participants have helped shape conversations, drive investments, and inspire change.

Street with Detroit skyline in the background

In the Media

Detroiters' optimism tied to liklihood of voting

Nov 3, 2025 Detroit Metro Times

Detroiters who believe the city is moving in the right direction are far more likely to vote in next week’s mayoral election than those who say it’s on the wrong track, according the most recent installment of the The Detroit Metro Area Communities S...

Publication

U-M survey finds link between Detroiters’ intention to vote, optimism about the city

Oct 28, 2025

Detroiters who view the city as headed in the right direction are more likely to vote in the Nov. 4 election than those who think the city is on the wrong track, according to a survey from the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities S...

News

DMACS Detroit election study widely reported

Sep 24, 2025

The survey by the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study about Detroiters’ Top Household Challenges Ahead of the 2025 Mayoral Election received wide media attention. The survey was conducted in conjunction with Outlier Media. In an interview with Michi...

News

Survey shows top challenges Detroiters want new mayor to address

Sep 17, 2025

New findings from a University of Michigan survey of Detroiters showing the top challenges households face in their daily lives and how they would like city leadership to respond have implications for Detroit's mayoral election in November.

News

Cost is leading factor in Detroit's higher-than-average rate of uninsured homeowners

Jul 14, 2025

About 38% of Detroit homeowners without mortgages report being uninsured, nearly twice as high as the national average of 19.5%, a new University of Michigan survey shows. Cost was the most frequently cited reason for Detroit homeowners to forgo home...

News

Government suspicion, conspiratorial thinking linked to historical harm in 3 Michigan communities, U-M report finds

Feb 20, 2025

More than half of residents surveyed in three Michigan communities believe significant events occur without public knowledge—a sentiment of government suspicion closely tied to conspiratorial thinking, according to a University of Michigan policy bri...

hands holding a newspaper in front of the michigan capitol building

In the Media

Ostfeld highlights attitudes in cities with high-immigrant populations

Oct 14, 2024 Michigan Public

Speaking with Michigan Public, the Ford School's Mara Ostfeld discusses results from her recent research on public opinion in Michigan on immigration policy. Ostfeld stated, “U.S.-born residents living in cities with a higher proportion of foreign-bo...

News

Survey shows Detroiters’ top priorities for city officials going into election

Sep 30, 2024

Crime and safety tops the list of priority issues that Detroit residents want to see city officials address going into the November 2024 election, according to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan in partnership with Outlier Media. Thirty...

Word cloud with issues most important to Detroiters

Publication

Lack of trust in political system main reason some Detroiters won't vote

Jul 31, 2024

Distrust in the political system is the most commonly cited reason that eligible voters in Detroit say they don't plan to vote in November, according to a University of Michigan survey. The survey, fielded by U-M's Detroit Metro Area Communities Stud...

American Flags and Pins on White Background

Publication

Detroiters’ perceptions of their neighborhoods shifted after Strategic Neighborhood Fund investments

Jul 22, 2024

A study drawing on survey data from the past five years shows that while neighborhood satisfaction fell across Detroit as the pandemic unfolded, neighborhoods that had received targeted infrastructure improvements proved more resilient. The survey da...

News

Detroit residents' trust in police shaped by history of police contact

Mar 5, 2024

Detroit residents who have had any type of contact with police are more critical of police than people who have no contact with police, according to a survey of Detroit residents from the University of Michigan. U-M’s Detroit Metro Area Communities S...

State & Hill

Snapshot: Associate Dean Jeffrey Morenoff

Dec 12, 2023

Sociologist Jeffrey Morenoff, associate dean for research and policy engagement Focus: neighborhood environments, crime and criminal justice, the social determinants of health, racial/ethnic/immigrant inequality, and methods for analyzing multilev...

News

Detroit's 16% unemployment rate driven by labor force rebounders - DMACS study

Jun 30, 2023

Sixteen percent of Detroit residents in the labor force were unemployed as of March 2023, according to the latest survey from the University of Michigan's Detroit Metro Area Communities Study. The latest unemployment estimate essentially holds s...

News

Staff honored by their Ford School peers for selflessness, integrity, and jubilance

Jun 29, 2023

Congratulations to the three recipients of the 2023 Staff Recognition Awards! Amy Flanagan from Student & Academic Services, DMACS Project Lead Sharon Sand, and Kirby Jewell from the Business and Grants Office received their accolades at the annual F...

News

DMACS to study impact of Strategic Neighborhood Fund in Detroit

Jun 12, 2023

The University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) was recently contracted by Invest Detroit, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, to look at the relationship between community investment and overall trends ...

Photo of homes in Detroit's Chaldean Town neighborhood

News

U-M report on Detroiters’ opinions of reparations gains traction in media

Apr 18, 2023

The Center for Racial Justice, the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study, and Poverty Solutions released a new report detailing Detroiters’ opinions on reparations and racial inequity in March 2023. Since its release, multiple news outlets picked up t...

News

Detroiters' views on reparations connected to perception of racial wealth gap, other inequality

Mar 29, 2023

Detroiters' perceptions of the racial wealth gap, the legacy of slavery and other forms of racial inequity are strongly connected to their support for reparations and policies that address racial inequity. Overall, 63% of Detroit residents suppo...

Detroiters Reparations Racial Inequality March 2023 policy brief image

Publication

75% of unemployed Detroiters expect to return to work soon as unemployment rate drops

Dec 11, 2022

As more Detroiters return to work amid the pandemic recovery, the greatest declines in unemployment have been for residents of color and people with low incomes—although those groups continue to experience higher-than-average unemployment rates. ...

News

Ostfeld appointed research director of the Center for Racial Justice

Dec 5, 2022

Political scientist Dr. Mara Celicia Ostfeld has been named the inaugural research director of the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. In this role, Ostfeld will lead the development of the ce...

Mara Ostfeld speaking at a Poverty Solutions event.

News

Detroiters say quality K-12 schools is top policy priority for November elections

Nov 3, 2022

Detroit residents say the quality of K-12 schools is their top priority for the November elections, followed closely by inflation, affordable housing, affordable health care, and crime. That's according to a new representative survey of Detroiter...

News

Candidate support for reparations would mobilize Detroit voters

Nov 2, 2022

While most Detroiters intend to vote in the November midterm election, those who are uncertain about voting or unlikely to vote could be motivated to cast a ballot by a candidate's support for reparations, according to a new survey from the Universit...

In the Media

Branche-Wilson breaks down DMACS findings about financial health

Sep 12, 2022 Michigan Radio

A Detroit Metro Area Communities Study found that many Detroiters would struggle if faced with a $400 emergency. Afton Branche-Wilson, assistant director of community initiatives at Poverty Solutions, helped Michigan Radio summarize the findings. ...

In the Media

DMACS: Detroiters' financial recovery from COVID mixed

May 29, 2022 Axios Detroit

The economic recovery form the COVID-19 recession has been mixed for residents of Detroit, Axios reports, based on a recent Detroit Metro Area Communities Study survey. Axios quoted Lydia Wileden, a research associate who co-wrote the report, who...

News

Majority of Detroiters report stable, improved financial situation compared to year ago

May 16, 2022

Two years into the pandemic, 72% of Detroit residents say their financial situation has stabilized or improved compared to a year ago, and there's evidence that stimulus checks and the expanded Child Tax Credit played a role in reducing Detroiters' e...