Community Row Markets

Detroit. (2021 - in progress)

How can grassroots organizers and artists tap into cultural heritage to heal, empower, and spread joy in marginalized communities? How does this social experience manifest spatially in the neighborhood to promote life-sustaining connections and build capacity? Working with WISE Partnership (Women’s Innovative Social Enterprise), we designed and organized spaces that illustrate how artists and social entrepreneurs can cooperate from the ground-up to create a sustainable approach to land development. These social entrepreneurs provide a network of opportunities for social well-being, improved mental health, and increased access to jobs, education, and locally sourced food. Although some needs are deep rooted and complex, by inserting community-led services within the neighborhood, there is much that can be done to uplift Detroit natives. Access to these services is immediately increased by designing shared space for local, social entrepreneurs with minimum overhead and little cost to residents who benefit. By connecting the design and planning of space with social programming, we are fostering partnerships among various artists, social entrepreneurs, and technologies in order to build power, preserve culture, and transform the built environment.

WISE Partnership is a distinct group of community partners providing health, education, nutrition, economics and green infrastructure, creating an equitable and eco-friendly development within Detroit communities. Their vision for this mixed-use development centers on the radical idea of a resident-led, resident-stewarded place that elevates local organizations, businesses, and people. By intentionally programming the space around Black and Brown culture, heritage, and needs, these marginalized identities are celebrated and represented in leadership positions.