Since its inception, “Building Community Value” as an organizational name has meant many things to the stakeholders involved in its sustainability and in its success.  In the literal sense, we have created a space to help Detroiters bring the built environment back to life in our neighborhoods. We have also, however, built a community of developers who understand “value” as a concept beyond economic returns on investment. To our dedicated participants and alumni, creating value is about understanding, leveraging, and working with community. Ultimately, it’s about people. 

 

Through this lens, we understand equitable development – a complex term, increasingly understood to mean more than just development led by African-Americans or other minority groups. Although it is vitally important that developers in cities like Detroit reflect the communities in which development occurs, “Building Community Value” requires those same developers to help foster healthy and vibrant communities. Neighborhood developers do this by responding to community needs and involving community residents in the design and execution of projects.

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