June 19, 2018 
Changing Detroit
Data Driven Detroit has studied all of Detroit to determine which neighborhoods are most likely to see rising home values. The darker the yellow, the more likely blocks are to change. The darker the blue, the least likely they are. To study your neighborhood, zoom in on the map and click on a block to see a host of information.
A little-known database is trying to predict which blocks of Detroit are likely to rebound.
Known as “Turning the Corner,” the interactive map provides a street-level glimpse into changes unfolding on 9,444 city blocks and identifies which neighborhoods are most likely to see rising home values and rents that could force out longtime residents, said Noah Urban, a senior analyst for Data Driven Detroit, a company that developed the database.
Related:
- Is Detroit finally turning the corner? Or is gentrification a problem
- Poverty is Detroit’s biggest problem. Gentrification doesn’t come close.
“The data helps identify areas that may be at higher risk of displacement if a transformational investment occurs, but it also allows users to drill deeper and identify what specific factors may be influencing that risk,” Urban said.
Funded by foundations, the tool is intended as a planning tool for city planners, investors and neighborhood groups. The hope is the map can inform policy to shore up changing neighborhoods or assist longtime residents, according to a report on the project.
Data Driven Detroit catalogued a host of statistics, from tax foreclosures, water shutoffs and blight violations to property values, fire alarm calls and electricity, to determine a “neighborhood change index.” Blocks are assigned one of six colors. In general, more prosperous neighborhoods are yellow, while poorer ones are blue.
Much of the east side is determined to have the least likelihood for change (rising values) while the northwest side has the most.
Among the individual neighborhoods primed for big changes: West Village, East Riverfront, North End and Southwest Detroit, according to the map.
The project removed some of the city’s most prosperous neighborhoods (such as Indian Village, Palmer Woods, Sherwood Forest) because they’ve traditionally had stable home ownership rates and property values, as well as downtown and Midtown because they are already amid radical change.
The Kresge Foundation was a key funder of the project, and is investing heavily in Detroit neighborhoods. Its president, Rip Rapson, said planners are committed to ensuring equity in Detroit’s comeback and preventing rising values from forcing out longtime residents.
“We’re trying to build up Detroit and avoid the negative effects of displacement,” Rapson said at an event in May. “No one is doing this anywhere.”
Related Detroit revival stories:
- Dan Gilbert: Fixing housing crisis in Detroit is a ‘moral imperative’
- Banks are lending again in Detroit...if you live in the right neighborhood
- Tax breaks for poor neighborhoods steered to booming pockets in Detroit
- Q&A: Meet the man reimagining Detroit, one vacant lot at a time
- Is Detroit coming back? It depends on the neighborhood
Comments
What is the comfortable urban "holding capacity" of Detroit?
Mainly, what is a comfortable capacity before we get excessive vertical sprawl in the Central Business District, Greater Downtown (area in Grand Boulevard Loop), and Detroit as a whole?
I know the historic population numbers, but part of the reason Detroit began to depopulate was because it wasn't always the nicest place to live. It was segregated, overcrowded, dirty/polluted, and unplanned chaotic growth. So, what would be comfortable without all that?
The general consensus that came about in years of past discussions was that everything within the Grand Boulevard Loop would "come back" with some exceptions. For example, the area near the Trash Incinerator or Grand River along I-96 would not comeback unless said issues were fixed. This is why things like the jails and homeless shelters are being moved to these areas.
It is becoming increasingly clear that areas along the radials are also going to be a focus due to their reliable transit lines.
The final goal for many developers is to eventually sell to bigger fish, as the gentrifiers get gentrified by foreign players.