In Detroit, neighborhood crime, gang activity, unrestrained dogs, and declining or dangerous properties affect students’ safety to and from school. To help address a broad range of community safety concerns, The Urban Safety Program partners with schools and community groups to implement the “Mapping Out A Safer Community” program. In this program, Detroit middle school students receive instruction in state-of-the-art computerized mapping (a.k.a. GIS-geographic information systems) and portable computing to study neighborhoods near their school. Using PocketPCs, students map locations and characteristics of dangerous properties, take photographs, and research property ownership. They also set priorities and identify the most problematic locations near their school. Properties with the most egregious violations, known as “The Dirty Dozen”, offer a compelling picture of hazards Detroit children face daily. This information is presented to community leaders and city officials who attempt to correct dangerous situations.

To date, the Urban Safety Program has worked with students from:  Foch Middle School, Butzel Middle School, Spain Middle School, Finney High School, and community-based after school and summer programs.

The system for addressing persistent neighborhood problems in the City of Detroit is broken. "Transforming Neighborhood Problem-Solving in Detroit" brings together the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood City Halls, residents and Wayne State University in a new information-driven, technology-enabled collaborative process that empowers neighborhood residents to identify and prioritize persistent neighborhood problems, develop innovative solutions, and monitor progress toward remediation of problems. This new model features youth involvement (community mapping), capacity building with neighborhood city halls, data-driven problem tracking, and increased accountability through systematic follow-up and evaluation. The goal of our project is to achieve systemic change in how government and community work together, smarter, and faster to address persistent neighborhood problems that affect Detroiter's quality of life.

Building Capacity of Non-Profit Community Development Organizations

Wayne State University's Center for Urban Studies is working with Detroit Community Initiative to build capacity in several Detroit-area community development corporations (CDCs). The project aims to develop skills with CDCs to use geographic information systems and mobile mapping technologies. This initiative features youth involvement, technology capacity building, data-driven problem analysis and tracking, and increased government accountability through systematic follow-up and evaluation. The goal of our project is to achieve systemic change in how government and community work together, smarter, and faster to address persistent neighborhood problems that affect Detroiter's quality of life.