Detroit Renewal

Instead of taking sides or placing blame, reach out and help a fellow metro Detroiter with a job, a hand up, or a meal. Rebuild Detroit the sustainable way -- build and connect the people. Unite.

The Detroit region has the assets and tools to be a leader in innovation. For the past several years, a culture of regional collaboration has been taking root, replacing several decades of fragmentation, competition or indifference.

Water is a precious, life-giving resource, not a commodity to be exploited by greed. The only way to ensure it stays that way is to keep Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, our well, in the hands and control of the people.

The direct financial costs of the Iraq war were estimated to be about $800 billion, with a 'B.' That struck me as a lot of money. I started thinking: "What else could we have done with $800 billion over eight years?"

Detroit must take advantage of being in the limelight right now to align all of its stakeholders to be positive forces in the process of change.

Instead of working for a progress we can only access in the cinema of our imaginations, "a fantasy of more," we should embrace our station as a struggling city and exert ourselves towards making it better.

We have the ability to change Detroit by simply changing the way we speak about it. You never know who you're speaking to.

With the authentic desire to build community and solve problems, it's the local people who have the greatest handle on the solutions our communities seek.

We must look to Mayor Bing and the city council to inspire us with thoughtful leadership. What Detroit desperately needs today is new ideas, "aha moments," not fewer teachers in the classrooms.

Transforming Detroit is not a short-term process. It will not be easy. It will take significant effort from those who care enough to invest our best in the city's revitalization.

I'm not the only one coming home. There is a huge entrepreneurial movement permeating throughout the city. From technology to the creative sector, the excitement is growing.

I believe that this time is different. This time Detroit is on its way back. So, what makes me so optimistic? It's a combination of things, and that, in and of itself, is a good thing.

We recognize that Occupy Detroit has attracted the participation of people from across Michigan. This is a good thing, if people take the time to understand the current work of Detroit's social movements.