Doing Development Differently in Metro Detroit

D4 is a diverse coalition of residents, labor, environmental, faith-based, and community organizations, committed to using the built environment to create “win-win” scenarios for the community, the economy, workers, and the environment.

We want to reinvent the development process, which too often unfairly burdens low-income families and people of color. Many communities are disenfranchised from development decisions, leading to neighborhood displacement, environmental degradation, and the worst access to quality commercial amenities, city services, education, health care, and jobs for those who need them the most.

We envision something better. We envision a development process that provides a formal role for community engagement, with stakeholder input genuinely influencing what is built. We envision construction that provides opportunities for local hiring and organized labor. We envision completed projects that provide decent jobs for local residents, mitigate environmental impact, feature convenient transit access, and offer long-term community value such as affordable housing or public space.