Urban Affairs

'12th and Clairmount' uses the words and home videos of black and white Detroiters to describe the combustible race relations that stoked the violence, leaving 43 people dead and entire neighborhoods in ruin.

Detroit’s mortgage market is back, but mortgages are disproportionately going to whites. Blacks are buying in suburbs instead. ‘It looks like they’ve given up’ on Detroit, one Realtor says.

In five years, 31,000 jobs have been created in Detroit. But fewer residents are employed. The data suggests concerns over benefits of economic development initiatives are largely justified.

Michigan attorney general sides with Detroit children’s lawsuit against the state. ‘There are moments in our ... history when silence in the face of abhorrent circumstances is not an option,’ Nessel says.

Detroit’s decline stripped neighborhood groups of power. As the city ascends, city hall manages most growth, fueling debate from Corktown to the city’s impoverished east side on the value of neighborhood voices.

Former City Councilwoman Sheila Cockrel says she can’t disparage those in her neighborhood who are cashing in on peaking property values in the rising Detroit neighborhood.

A philanthropic initiative is pumping millions into childcare in Detroit — and hiring someone to accelerate the process.

Detroit is raising $3 million and plans to hire hundreds of workers to boost participation in the census, which provides $1,800 per person annually in federal funds.

Detroiters get first crack at jobs from $2.5B plants. But the skills gap could make it harder for them to get construction jobs to build the facility.

Fayette Coleman was tough as nails and endured an epic water shutoff. Now, activists wonder if that led to her death. Despite 100,000 shutoffs, no one knows because the issue is scarcely researched.

Michigan Business groups and even some Republicans back the Democratic governor’s plan to ease college access. But a Detroit study suggests free tuition plans are more apt to fail without extra support like counselors.

In Detroit, hundreds remain jailed even though they’ve never been convicted because they can’t afford bail. A lawsuit takes aim at 36th District Court.

Southwest Detroit Community School opened with high hopes and deep funding in 2013. But the charter school has suffered a revolving door of teachers and administrators, and parents are leaving in droves.

Report should wrap up this month to determine costs, logistics of resuming Amtrak service at the historic station that had become a symbol of Detroit’s decline.

Ridership is up and crashes are down for Detroit’s 3.3-mile streetcar. But on the best days, ridership is still only half of expectations.

Governor brings budget tour to Detroit, asks for help getting GOP to support 45-cent gas tax to fix roads, schools, water

Fiat Chrysler hosts its first community meeting for a massive investment on the eastside of Detroit. It could have gone better, with several neighbors doubting whether the deal would benefit nearby residents.

Detroit’s charter commission sets sights on water affordability, housing, planning and zoning, and is sued on claims it violated the state’s Open Meetings Act.

A coalition of foundations and law firms is calling for low-income renters to be represented by a lawyer at eviction hearings. In New York, a similar program actually saved the city money.

Key metrics measuring the health of Detroit – income, home values, poverty, foreclosures – show real progress since Mike Duggan became mayor in 2013. But he also benefits from starting at one of the worst periods in the city’s history.