Detroit’s Deeply Flawed Development

November 22, 2019

While it is true that a community benefit agreement is not a silver bullet to address the economic injustice that Black Detroiters confront on a daily basis, it is a worthwhile tool that recognizes our presence and our value in helping to shape the comeback of neighborhoods in the nation’s largest majority Black city.

Detroit's Deeply Flawed Development

From Detroit People's Platform NEWS, Fall 2019.

Detroit’s revitalization model is deeply flawed and fails to address the economic realities of the city’s majority black population.  Under the current model hundreds of millions of public dollars are diverted into the construction of luxury high rise apartment buildings, the “Downtown Entertainment Complex” i.e. sports arenas, bars, and restaurants, and more private than public transportation alternatives.

A recent article in Bridge magazine referencing Detroit’s so called “turn around” states that the touted promise of more jobs for Detroiters in exchange for our scarce public resources has BARELY materialized. “These data suggest that concerns over who will benefit from economic development initiatives are largely justified. The robust job growth in recent years has largely bypassed Detroit residents. Suburbanites have been the primary beneficiaries.”1

For years local advocates have argued for greater investment of public resources in Detroit neighborhoods. That investment would focus on rebuilding our public commons by renovating public libraries and recreation centers, updating local parks and schools and assuring quality affordable housing for residents who face rental cost that are increasingly beyond the income of the average Detroiter.

Detroit People’s Platform (DPP) and the citywide CBA coalition, Equitable Detroit (EDC), have time and again challenged our elected officials to stop the corporate giveaways and the funneling of precious and scarce public resources into the deep pockets of wealthy white billionaires and their investors. For the most part these calls have gone unheeded. 

In 2016, the community organized and brought forth Proposal A, a ballot initiative designed to strengthen the community’s role and position residents to negotiate with developers for community benefits when public resources are invested in large private economic development projects. In response, some members of City Council organized against community by initiating a competing Proposal B.  Proposal B was heavily favored by corporate and special interest which helped to defeat Proposal A by a narrow margin.  

Fast forward to 2019 and it is evident that Detroiters have been poorly served by Proposal B and the resulting Community Benefit Ordinance (CBO).  As it is currently written, the ordinance protects developers and severely restricts the ability of residents to get a fair deal. Nearly two years into the process, nine major development projects and public investment beyond a billion dollars, we are demanding a stronger CBO.   

While it is true that a community benefit agreement is not a silver bullet to address the economic injustice that Black Detroiters confront on a daily basis, it is a worthwhile tool that recognizes our presence and our value in helping to shape the comeback of neighborhoods in the nation’s largest majority Black city.