To mark the public kick-off of the year-long Cody Rouge & Warrendale Neighborhood Framework process, all area residents are invited to hear a presentation from nine area teenagers who have spent the last ten weeks interviewing city officials & neighborhoods leaders, attending public meetings, and trying to answer the question: What is a Cody Rouge & Warrendale Neighborhood Framework?

Information will be available about he coming year of activities—public discussions, youth programs, and neighborhood improvement projects—focused on the future of the west side neighborhoods of Cody Rouge & Warrendale, including Franklin Park, Joy Community, Warrendale, and Warren Avenue.

The event will begin with welcomes from the neighborhood groups participating in the Organizational Steering Committee, then turns over to nine area teenagers who have spent the last ten weeks investigating who makes decisions about their neighborhood, from streets and building demolition to parks and new businesses. The young people will present their report, then moderate a discussion among neighborhood leaders and audience members.

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE SERVED
Learn more & RSVP to Matt Williams, West Region Planner, at (313) 224-5594 or email

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We knew many people were curious who was in charge of demolishing abandoned houses in the neighborhood, so we talked to Arthur Edge of BSEED (Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environment Department).

Mr. Edge was adamant on answering our questions and telling what it’s like to work as a supervisor of demolition. This included difficult parts and scary stories of finding things in abandoned houses, and also positive parts like when neighborhood residents are grateful when a dangerous building is destroyed.

“I am responsible for the blight that is here in our city and I want to make a difference as far as making it safe for residents, for young people like you.”

“Right now the city is probably demolishing around 4000 buildings a year.”

“You can do anything, don’t let anything hold you back. I want to see you go to the top and be whatever you want to be.”

(Blog Post by T.H)

When we interviewed Ms Campbell she talked to us about her starting her nonprofit organization & what motivated her to do it. She told us that she was born & raised in the Cody Rouge area and wanted to give back.

We wanted to know who runs these west side Detroit streets, so we got an appointment with City Engineer Richard Dougherty in the Department of Public Works.

We talked about “automotive services,” the “right of way,” how concrete crumbles, and designs that might slow down wild speeding drivers that make young people feel nervous all the time.

To see what a Neighborhood Framework looks like in another neighborhood, we checked out the final meeting of the process for Jefferson-Chalmers on the east side.
So this is how adults figure out the future of their neighborhood? Sitting in a big room with some posterboards and making speeches? This gave us many ideas for different types of meetings and events that can be more youth-driven.

We got to meet some city government urban planners, including Planning Director Maurice Cox, who promised to meet with us later.

We saw the kinds of projects that the Neighborhood Framework was proposing, like new ways to use old buildings.

We also heard from people who were critical of the process, who said they thought the framework was a sham, that the city government was just doing what it wanted and ignoring long-time residents. We got their numbers and said we’d like to talk more.

It seems a Neighborhood Framework is not a simple thing, and not just a good thing, or a bad one. The investigation continues…