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The University
of Michigan could not have grown into
a world-class institution without Detroit,
a city that spawned the UM in 1817 and
later a metropolis that boomed with the
wealth and resources needed to fuel its
rise to greatness. Now this aging city,
like so many in America, needs and deserves
our support as it revitalizes itself
at the beginning of its fourth century.
With a diverse metropolitan population of over five million people, Detroit is a rich and exciting community for design and planning. We are committed to working in partnership with residents, civic leaders, government officials, and other stakeholders to help Detroit regain its status as a great American city and envision better futures for itself. Already, many of our faculty and students participate in a plethora of design and planning studios, research projects, AmeriCorps projects, and the largest annual design charrette in the country-all focused in and on Detroit.
These efforts are driven by a fervent commitment and passion for social justice and equity.
Future near-term activities will include:
. With the UM Center newly-established in Detroit, Taubman College will work to develop a robust community design center within the facility and to form interdisciplinary partnerships that will expand and enrich the College's Detroit outreach programs.
. Sustaining the annual urban design charrette. Each year since 1999, the College has sponsored a four- or five-day workshop that focused on a particular aspect of Detroit. Future charrettes may focus on other cities or regions in Michigan and beyond.
. Supporting ongoing Detroit-based design studios and research projects along with subsidies for student interns who accept low-paying community service jobs in the inner city.
. Growing our small Master of Urban Design degree program, which robed its first graduates in August 2002. Intended to prepare design professionals for the complex challenges and opportunities facing the contemporary metropolis in the U.S. and abroad, this program is intellectually and professionally situated between architecture and urban planning.
. Initiating new and innovative collaborations with the School of Art + Design, the School of Public Health, the Business School, the School of Natural Resources and Environment, the School of Social Work, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts to broaden and deepen understanding of the contemporary city.
GOALS
. Develop and sustain the nascent community design center in Detroit.
. Provide financial support for graduate students in architecture, urban design, and planning, especially ones from challenged urban areas.
. Endow a professorship(s) in urban futures
or in urban development.
. Endow the annual urban design charrette. |
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This page is an excerpt from
A
Second Century of Leadership:
The Case for Taubman College of Architecture
+ Urban Planning.
Send an email to portico@umich.edu
to request a copy. |
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