Detroit leaders and redevelopment experts will convene Wednesday at the 2015 U-M Social Impact Challenge Finals to evaluate student proposals on a social impact strategy for creative redevelopment of Detroit’s abandoned industrial buildings.
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business’ Center for Social Impact has partnered with the City of Detroit, Detroit Future City, German Marshall Fund and Vanguard Community Development Corp. to present this opportunity.
Specifically, graduate student teams will design proposals to redevelop the Fisher Body Plant 21, an abandoned building in Detroit’s North End community, transforming it into a hub for creativity and the arts while also creating jobs and economic opportunity for the city.
During the annual two-week challenge, multidisciplinary teams of students from 11 of the university’s top-ranked graduate schools and colleges collaborate to analyze live data and develop solutions that tackle a pressing social issue for the city.
The center’s partners include the Ross School, School of Social Work, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Stamps School of Art and Design, Ford School of Public Policy and the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Challenge finalists will present recommendations to a judging panel of experts and leaders, including: David Williams, senior adviser on jobs and economy, City of Detroit Mayor’s Office; Eleanore Eveleth, interim executive director, Vanguard Community Development Corp.; Geraldine Gardner, director of Urban and Regional Policy, German Marshall Fund of the U.S.; Faculty from the Ross, Stamps, and Taubman schools.
The winning team receives a $2,500 cash prize and the opportunity for their ideas to be implemented.
The event is free and open to the public from 5-7 p.m. in the Ross Colloquium.
