Our work in Detroit is focused on bringing a diversity of people together with resilient and green design.  Historically a heavy industrial city that has deep roots in the auto industry, Detroit by majority is minority occupied. The MYKD team recently completed a 21-acre masterplan that envisions a new green and sustainable plan for the former Ford Motor Company industrial site.

The goal of this project is to integrate human health issues with ecological resiliency- bringing together a healthful approach that reshapes this neighborhood. By doing so, we begin to address issues of air, lighting, and noise pollution through design.  All of which has been scientifically shown to impact the health of residents in Detroit.  The city’s particle pollution places the health of the residents at risk – with people of color more likely to live in a county with unhealthy air. Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks and cardiovascular damage.  Noise and light pollution have also been shown to have serious health impacts on people in the neighborhood.

Included in this project is Ford’s Michigan Central Station redevelopment and the Albert Kahn Book Depository building renovation.  This vision plan brings together a unique adaptive reuse strategy with sustainable design that builds healthier social infrastructure in this neighborhood by connecting people with each other and natural systems. Setting the stage for the district to reimagine the future of mobility, gateways connect the district to neighborhoods in all directions. Microforests with more than 550 new trees will introduce new habitats to this city along with over 2 acres of green stormwater infrastructure.