SOCIAL INNOVATION
Detroit

How can we understand the market opportunities in a post-industrial city reinventing itself? Detroit has been through a lot. Through it’s trauma, it has gained a certain wisdom that one could argue sets it ahead of the curve. There is a sensibility about doing business in Detroit that takes into account the whole system, the impact on people, and relationship to the city and its infrastructure.

For the social innovation in Detroit immersion, we looked at revitalization through both grassroots initiatives and global brands like Shinola attempting to modernize the city’s manufacturing legacy. We explored reinvestment in schools–including a nationally ranking charter school serving a 60% homeless student body, met pioneers of Detroit’s equitable food movement, met the founders of Recycle Here! in a shipping container-turned-classroom, and learned new tactic for public sector design from our partners Civilla.