City of Detroit

State & Hill

Discourse: Fordies in the news, fall 2024

Dec 17, 2024

“Most likely the perception within the Israel Defence Forces and at the political level within Netanyahu’s war cabinet is that they have the momentum. . . . when one side believes it has the momentum against its adversary, you don’t want to give it...

Javed Ali, Catherine Hausman, Molly Kleinman, Kristin Seefeldt, Betsey Stevenson, Natasha Pilkauskas, Luke Shaefer

State & Hill

The Last Word: Sue Johnson

Dec 17, 2024

For 25 years, Sue Johnson has been a driving force behind successful fundraising efforts at the University of Michigan, first supporting Rackham Graduate School, then the University’s Museum of Art, and the Law School. Since 2016, the Ford School...

Publication

Beating the odds: Students at Detroit public schools are less depressed, anxious

Nov 11, 2024

The share of 8th-12th grade students reporting depression and anxiety symptoms fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23 in the Detroit Public School Community District—which is the opposite of national trends.The most substantial improvements were...

Photo of two students comparing notes, smiling.

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...

Word cloud with issues most important to Detroiters

News

Building tech to support small towns: U-M team develops digital tool for SEC compliance

Sep 26, 2024

When Congress passed the Financial Data and Transparency Act (FDTA) in 2022, it required all municipalities in the U.S. to modernize and digitize their financial reports. This is a heavy lift for small towns and school districts, most of which still...

Photo of a stone building with a large "City Hall" sign

News

2024 Pitch Competition: Katrina Wheelan at City of Detroit, Office of Budget

Sep 16, 2024

Eleven talented students showcased what they learned during their summer internship at the Ford School 7th Annual Policy Pitch Competition. Undergraduate and graduate students spent three minutes sharing their key deliverables, policy impacts, and...

Katrina Wheelan Policy Pitch presentation

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...

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...

News

Michigan metro areas divided on views on legal immigration, U-M survey shows

Jun 27, 2024

Immigration consistently shows up as the most important problem facing the U.S. in national public opinion polls, but less information has been available to understand how Michiganders view immigration.With Michigan poised to be one of the most...

Photo of an American flag backed by a gray sky

News

Survey shows how Detroiters’ mental health has changed since pandemic

May 30, 2024

Detroiters’ mental health-related symptoms have improved and largely stabilized since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Michigan report.While the negative impacts of the pandemic on people’s mental health are well...

Photo of building with sign that reads, "How are you really?"

State & Hill

Julie Schneider: Public servants advancing the public good

Apr 24, 2024

Within the last 5 years, $1 billion has been invested in affordable housing in the City of Detroit to create and preserve 12,000 housing units. Julie Schneider facilitated the planning process and is now overseeing its...

State & Hill

Public sector consulting fills government workforce demand

Apr 24, 2024

A growing number of public policy graduates are opting to work in public sector consulting—public arms of larger firms such as EY or Deloitte, or advisory consulting firms such as Guidehouse, Huron Consulting Group, or Booz Allen. For many years, a...

Headshots of Fritz, Zinkel Walters, and Sernick

State & Hill

It’s all about equity

Apr 24, 2024

The Biden administration wants electric vehicles (EVs) to comprise fifty percent of new vehicle sales in just six years. This has required massive investment in our charging infrastructure. And charging is not the only issue raised by the...

Liz Gerber interviewing Dr. Missy Stults

State & Hill

Class notes, spring 2024

Apr 24, 2024

Michael Weinberger (MPA ’66) and his wife of almost 40 years, Karen Weinberger, are moving to Pasadena, CA, after almost 60 years in the Washington, DC area, to be closer to their granddaughter, Luca. Mike McGee (MPP ’83) was named the 2023...

Photos of Henry, Iovan, Natsuki, and Garcia

News

UM study: Detroit’s Black homeowners gained nearly $3B in real estate wealth from 2014-22

Apr 16, 2024

University of Michigan Poverty Solutions study released today shows Detroit’s Black homeowners gained $2.8 billion in home valueStudy based on 9 years or recorded home sales dataNeighborhoods with highest poverty and lowest home values in 2014 saw...

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...

News

Poverty Solutions at U-M grows partnerships in poverty alleviation in 2023

Feb 1, 2024

Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan last year informed the largest-ever increase in state funding for youth homelessness programs, advised federal policymakers on place-based strategies for tackling poverty and laid the groundwork for...

Collage of Poverty Solutions faculty and students

News

Consulting practice: students gain experience working with policy clients

Jan 18, 2024

“Research and consulting projects rarely go as planned,” Professor Jefferey Morenoff reassured his PubPol578 students as they prepared to present a semester’s worth of findings. The Ford School’s Strategic Public Policy Consulting (SPPC) course...

State & Hill

Faculty news, fall 2023

Dec 12, 2023

Axelrod's adventures Robert Axelrod, William D. Hamilton Distinguished University Professor Emeritus, writes about the difficulties and rewards of interdisciplinary collaboration in his new autobiography, A Passion for Cooperation: Adventures...

Headshots of Axelrod, Cavaillé, Michelmore, Neggers, Ostfeld, Parthasarathy, Pilkauskas, Stange, Torres, and Weiss

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...

State & Hill

Sherry Suttles (MPP ’71): An original IPPSter rides on

Dec 12, 2023

Sherry Suttles (MPP ’71) made history as the first Black woman city manager in the United States. That was a goal Suttles had set for herself soon after graduating in the first class of Master of Public Policy degrees awarded by U-M’s Institute...

Sherry Suttles with her son and his classmates

State & Hill

Spotlights, fall 2023

Dec 10, 2023

What’s on the barbie? Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson were on the guest list as the White House hosted a State Dinner for Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in October. Skills match More than fifty...

Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers White House picture

News

Meet our new faculty: Mo Torres

Aug 25, 2023

Mo Torres returns to the Ford School (he graduated with his MPP in 2015) as one of six University of Michigan Society of Fellows for a three-year appointment. He will work closely with the Center for Racial Justice. Torres is a historical...

News

Chronic housing instability poses educational risk for Detroit students

Aug 16, 2023

As Detroit children prepare to return to school, widespread and chronic housing instability among city residents poses a threat to students’ ability to perform well academically. New research from the University of Michigan’s Poverty...

In the Media

Kleinman casts doubt on Detroit Police Department's use of ShotSpotter

Aug 1, 2023 Bridge Detroit

Molly Kleinman, managing director of the Science Technology and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan, said the data Bridge Detroit obtained through FOIA doesn’t put accuracy concerns to rest. Kleinman said relying on DPD to flag...

News

Leiser and Shaefer comment on Detroit bankruptcy anniversary

Jul 18, 2023

As the city of Detroit marked the 10th anniversary of its declaration of bankruptcy, publications took stock of the progress the city has made. Bloomberg quoted the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy’s (CLOSUP) Stephanie Leiser, who leads...

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...

News

Ford School welcomes PPIA 2023 cohort

Jun 19, 2023

The 2023 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Junior Summer Institute (JSI) has welcomed 23 students from 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. This year’s cohort will spend seven weeks taking classes, participating in...

Publication

$8.2M in emergency rental assistance spent at Detroit properties where landlords still moved to evict

Jun 14, 2023

University of Michigan researchers found that at least $8.2 million in federal emergency rental assistance funds were spent at single-family properties in Detroit where landlords still moved to evict tenants within six months of payment. A new...

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