Improving Community Resiliency through

Resilience Hub Networks

Presenter: Joel Howrani Heeres from City of Detroit - Public Sector Consultants

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Improving the accessibility of resilience resources for vulnerable individuals requires that we meet them where they are at. Resilience hubs are respected and trusted community spaces where residents can go in normal times but also, due to solar and storage, in times of emergencies for access to supplies, power, cooling or heating, or camaraderie. In Detroit, we are building our first resilient Rec Center, the Lenox Rec Center. We are also partnering with community based orgs, such as Eastside Community Network and Brilliant Detroit to develop a network of resiliency hubs on the lower east side of Detroit. Coordinated emergency planning will enable these hubs to work together collectively and deliver the resources needed to the most vulnerable residents.

All-Electric Home in Detroit

Presenters: Kendal Kuneman and Chris McTaggart from Kendal Kuneman + Dream DET, LLC

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Hear the story of how a vacant 1925-built home on Detroit's west side purchased from the Detroit Land Bank Authority was carefully renovated to operate more efficiently than a newly built home. With support of the DTE All-Electric Affordable Homes Pilot program, the home achieved a HERS Index Score of 40, with an air infiltration rate of 2.26 ACH! Kendal Kuneman, the homeowner and General Contractor, whose immigrant Great-Grandparents from Russia and Ukraine once lived in this home, wanted to invest in the Warrendale community by renovating it to be resilient in the face of the climate crisis. Chris McTaggart from Dream DET, LLC was the DTE-approved HERS Rater who greatly supported Kendal on this project, as well as the ICF team that managed the DTE pilot program. This project was the first existing home to complete the requirements of the program. The two-family home will provide housing through the Detroit Refugee Network.

Talkin’ Trash – Solving

the Challenges of Waste Diversion

in Commercial Tenant Spaces

Presenter: Najahyia Chinchilla, AIA, LEED- AP and Christopher Heine, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP from Gensler, SmithGroup

The popularity and efficiency of composting and residential recycling programs in the State of Michigan have led to record high waste diversion rates across the state. However, when it comes to adopting these practices in the workplace, added costs, apathy and a lack of coordination between building owners and tenants has left a gap for those who wish to responsibly dispose of waste. Two of Detroit’s leading architecture and engineering firms recently embarked on parallel paths of solving the challenges of waste diversion in commercial office buildings in the City. Using case studies from Gensler and SmithGroup, we will expose the barriers and challenges of coordinating recycling and composting programs in an office environment, while sharing lessons learned on bringing together owners, tenants, and building managers to realize the co-benefits of a multi-faceted waste diversion strategy.

Working Together Matters: Sustainability and Community

in Goodstock

Presenter: Tammara Howard from What About Us Inc. and Belvidere Youth Block Club// Eastside Community Network

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This presentation will highlight the Live, Learn, and Love community engagement project in the Goodstock neighborhood on the eastside of Detroit. This project is run by What About Us, Inc. and was started as part of the LEAP Sustainability Fellowship and seeks to build community sustainability, share resources, and provide a space for people to come together. The core values are dignity, integrity, commitment, respect, accountability, family, and love. At the Live, Learn, Love space, we have transformed 5 vacant lots into a vegetable and flower garden, community gathering space, and recreation area featuring horseshoes and putt putt golf. We are also building a neighborhood resource hub on one of the lots that will provide tutoring, GED training, and health programming. This presentation will focus on the importance of engagement, working together, and building relationships to promote both social and environmental wellbeing in our communities.

Higher Purpose: How to Maximize Urban Food Streams

Presenter: Danielle Todd from Make Food Not Waste

Food waste reduction is a leading solution to climate change as well as an economic driver. And urban food streams present unique opportunities to make an impact while keeping resources local. In this talk, we'll discuss how Detroit can reduce the amount of landfilled food by adopting research-backed initiatives from across the U.S. and abroad. You'll learn how you can connect your professional work and personal life to this issue in ways that will greatly impact Detroit and how this work can lead to change in other urban areas.

Connecting Past & Future: Designing for NetZero

at Edsel & Eleanor Ford House

Presenters: Brittany Fiema, PE, LEED Green Associate, and Francesca Price, PE, LEED Green Associate from Smith Group

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The Edsel and Eleanor Ford House Visitor Center and Administration Building prove that prioritizing building energy performance does not require the sacrifice of architectural design excellence. Through careful coordination, the SmithGroup architecture and engineering teams were able to tackle this cultural design challenge through a holistic and integrated approach. The Administration Building is designed to be net zero energy to prepare for future generations and honor the Fords’ vision of enhancing and sustaining the environment. Sloped gables and mansard roofs conceal photovoltaic arrays, and solar panels, natural ventilation, automatic blinds, geothermal, and other sustainable strategies allow the administration building to achieve net zero energy. While focusing on connecting the past with the future, the project team designed the net zero energy Administration Building to be future-focused and honor the Fords’ vision of enhancing and sustaining the environment.

Cultivating Connections in

the Goodstock Community

Presenter: Loretta Powell from Little Detroit Community Garden// Eastside Community Network

The Little Detroit Community Garden is a safe outdoor place to meet and greet, a place to sow and grow, a place to experience the beauty in our community. Our main purpose is to educate and cultivate the minds of all community members. Together, we have built multiple gardens, including flowers, vegetables, and stormwater management, as well as an outdoor community meeting space and gazebo. This presentation will focus on the development of this project and highlight lessons learned and surprises along the way. The presentation will also offer reflections on the importance of building relationships and creating safe, beautiful spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a project for the LEAP Sustainability Fellowship, has evolved into something much bigger, as a space to connect across communities and generations while beautifying and nourishing Detroit's Goodstock neighborhood.

Elmwood Circle Forest: Habitat Restoration

in the Shadow of Incineration

Presenter: Patrick Crouch from Detroit Future City

Communities in Detroit have both and excess of untended property, and lack of access to parks and recreation. How can these lots be transformed into an asset in a community instead of sites of illegal dumping. Learn about one example, Elmwood Circle Forest, which sits in the shadow of the incinerator on the Eastside of Detroit, can serve as a model for other communities to transform space in their community. Efforts are underway by Arboretum Detroit in partnership with Detroit Future City to transform 12 lots into habitat for native species, and a space for community members to relax, restore, and heal. When completed the site will feature ADA compliant walking paths, seating, children’s play areas, over 200 new trees planted, scores of native perennial species, and open prairie areas. The project seeks to connect people to the natural world and help to restore our relationship with the land.

Resilient Eastside Initiative

Presenters: Tim Skrotzki, Ali Dirul and Ricky Ackerman from Elevate / Ryter Cooperative Industries/ Eastside Community Network

Led by Eastside Community Network and the City of Detroit Elevate and Ryter Cooperative Industries are building long-term community resilience by coordinating a network of critical service providers, city agencies and residents to: (1) Deepen community engagement and the integration of city and social services to widen the acceptance and availability of services across Detroit’s east side, especially among hard-to-reach and isolated residents, and those experiencing the greatest impacts of environmental racism, (2) Upgrade critical neighborhood facilities with solar, battery storage, and other resilient infrastructure improvements to ensure availability of critical resources and services anytime - during emergencies, during recovery from emergencies, and every day, (3) Strengthen community organizations by lowering their operating costs, expanding access to resources and information, and building their ability to expand their services and their reach.