Cody Rouge
In 2019, CFACTS led a place-based initiative to revitalize the Cody Rouge neighborhood in Detroit. DTE Energy, General Motors, the Skillman Foundation, Rock Ventures, and the Cody Rouge community formed a Collaborative to invest in a targeted neighborhood initiative focused on a 40-block area, centered around neighborhood schools. The strategy aligned educational achievement with improvements in neighborhood conditions, employment, and safety.
We developed the plan using the following approach:
- Facilitated planning sessions with the Collaborative to develop the following Shared Value statement:
"Guided by collaborative engagement, we will improve educational outcomes which prepares each child to succeed through investments that measurably increase the quality of schools, enhance neighborhood conditions and community safety and increase employment for families living in the Cody Rouge target area."
— Cody Rouge Investment Committee
- Provided the Collaborative with best practice examples of successful comprehensive community development initiatives around the country.
- Conducted data analysis that identified the physical and economic conditions of the neighborhood, educational achievement levels, community safety statistics, employment levels and the root causes for disinvestment and racial inequities.
- Facilitated several community engagement sessions to integrate lived experiences and voices of the community with the demographic data. Developed specific strategies for the target area in consultation with the Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance.
Stakeholder Engagement
To allow for the effective participation of members in the initiative, the C-FACTS team had to address Collaborative and community engagement challenges. We spent several sessions educating members on how to work together in a Collaboration, understand racial equity concepts and causes of disparities, and the importance of objective data analysis. We conducted outreach to homeowner associations, churches, and parental groups to become involved and helped the Collaborative design a community engagement strategy. Resources such as childcare, meals, transportation and other supports were provided to ensure residents could more easily participate in evening or weekend planning sessions.
A comprehensive strategy was designed to:
- Improve high school graduation rates, proficiency levels and kindergarten readiness.
- Address housing conditions, rehab vacant houses and sell to existing neighborhood families to increase homeownership rates, wealth and neighborhood stabilization.
- Increase employment, income levels and job preparedness for 600 adults with a focus on families with children; place 50% of working age youth in summer jobs.
- Reduce the number of crimes that have the most impact on perceptions of neighborhood safety such as breaking and entering, car theft and juvenile delinquency.
Cody Rouge - Neighborhood of Opportunity Plan
Click here to see a copy of the plan.
