MAPPING UNEQUAL ENVIRONMENTS IN THE MOTOR CITY

The course was subdivided into weekly themes, and most weeks involved fieldwork, mapping, interviews, and/or reflecting. The first class was Maps & Methods:

To introduce interdisciplinary thinking, and following a rather warm summer, each instructor presented 3 slides on how a sociologist (Draus) and an environmental scientist (Napieralski) would study a rather simple topic: swimming pools. A sociologist might focus on the history of pools in society, such as their role in segregating urban and suburban populations. An environmental scientist might focus on water consumption and demand, and the economic and environmental cost to communities. But together, an interdisciplinary study might map the relationship between  vulnerable populations and outdoor water footprint in arid climates .

Before exploring neighborhoods and engaging with community members, it was important to distinguish between space and place. Space refers to the physical location, whereas place gives that space meaning. A physical space can be meaningful to different people for different reasons. Neighborhoods in Detroit and Dearborn provided us a laboratory to map spaces and describe places!

Following two weeks of exploring different environments at or near UM-D, it was time to expand our engagement to neighborhoods in Detroit. The main destination for this week included Mexicantown, located in Southwest Detroit.

To get there, the class took public transportation ( DDOT Bus Route #2 ) from Fairlane Mall to Michigan & 14th. Students were greeted with a view of the imposing Michigan Central Station, which is under construction by the  Ford Motor Company .

A short walk later, students stopped by  AGI Construction . AGI is a service-disabled veteran, Native-American minority-owned general contractor and project management firm that provides commercial and multi-housing interior remodeling, retrofitting, and building services that prioritizes community development projects. Tanya, who is a co-founder of AGI and native to the neighborhood, shared some of their challenges and accomplishments, described sustainability goals, and discussed the rich history and dedication local residents have toward Mexicantown. Students were particularly struck by AGI's efforts to support incoming immigrants that were looking for housing and career training.

Students were then asked to sketch a paper map of the neighborhood that they explored - a map that combined spatial data with stories. The maps were placed in a Google album and students voted for the best maps. These were voted the top 4 maps:

To understand concepts related to equity and equality, it was important to discuss the basics behind "race" and "racism". Race is a  social construction, not a biological category , as humans have 99% of genetic material in common. Moreover, race is a space that we occupy and is tightly entangled with class and status (think about it: who decides what race you/we are?).

Racism is judging individual in terms of presumed characteristics of hereditary group. It is a social practice and is responsible for the concept of race (not the other way around!).

Redlining has come to mean racial discrimination of any kind in housing, but it comes from government maps that outlined areas where Black residents lived and were therefore deemed risky investments.

The origins of the term come from government homeownership programs that were created as part of the 1930s-era New Deal. The programs offered government-insured mortgages for homeowners — a form of federal aid designed to stave off a massive wave of foreclosures in the wake of the Depression. As these programs evolved, the government added parameters for appraising and vetting properties and homeowners who would qualify. They used color-coded maps ranking the loan worthiness of neighborhoods in more than 200 cities and towns across the United States.

Neighborhoods were ranked from least risky to most risky — or from “A” through “D.” The federal government deemed “D” areas as places where property values were most likely to go down and the areas were marked in red — a sign that these neighborhoods were not worthy of inclusion in homeownership and lending programs. Not coincidentally, most of the “D” areas were neighborhoods where Black residents lived.

Students watched two videos on redlining: Segregated by Design and Why the Suburbs are Terrible for us and had the following questions to guide a discussion:

• What did you learn from the videos that you did not know before? 
• How were the two videos similar (and different) in their analysis of redlining?
• Which perspective was more convincing to you and why?
• How can you relate these videos to our experiences in the class?

Finally, there are numerous resources and published works that show the connection between the old, racist policies from HOLC and social, health and environmental inequality. The storymap below was created in collaboration with the  Digital Scholarship Lab  at the University of Richmond,  The Science Museum of Virginia , and  Esri , and show how redlining shaped our cities:

The class was subdivided into 6 teams, and each team was given one neighborhood to study, which was one that they visited during the semester AND was graded C or D by HOLC. This included Southend (Dearborn), Poletown, Mexicantown, Corktown, Black Bottom, and Boynton-Oakwood Heights.

Students watched the documentary 2040 (see Official Trailer) and, as part of a course project, each team had to describe the neighborhood using a combination of social and environmental data and then consider strategies to improve the quality of life in those communities.

Each student had to develop a specific plan for their community and submit a 60 - 90 second "pitch".

Summaries from the group presentations are included below:

For the final journal reflection, students were asked to think about the activities they participated in and what they learned. They were asked to address several questions, including identifying any noteworthy "shining moments" or high impact learning experiences in the class, in their reflections. They were also asked to write about what it means to them to "design your life" and become a "climate citizen". These are a few snippets:

This class taught me to never take small things for granted because the smallest things have a major impact on everyone around us in both good & bad ways.

Every single thing we’ve done was a learning experience in my opinion and if I were to explain to someone, I would simply show them action pictures and show them that “Hey guys look, I planted a tree!”

I gained a better understanding of the social and environmental conditions of the nation (and sometimes the world) by analyzing firsthand both the struggling and "well-off" neighborhoods of Southeast Michigan. I created and analyzed maps, finished research projects, spoke to local residents, took quizzes, and explored neighborhoods firsthand to better develop this understanding.

I learned to try new things and step out of my comfort zone, and I didn’t regret it at all!

When I look back at all the things we did as a part of this course and all the knowledge that was gained engaging in said activities, I can say without a doubt that it would be comical to even begin to think I could express all that I have learned in this journal reflection, but alas, I will try.

After taking this course, I started discovering more about myself, and that I really have interest in these type of classes, and helping to improve the environment.

Little actions go a long way and becoming a climate citizen is a way we can design our life for the better.

Drs.  Napieralski  and  Draus  have been collaborating on a wide range of interdisciplinary projects since joining UM-Dearborn in 2005. Their work has been published in international journals, such as Cultural Geographies, Sustainability, Cities, and Landscape and Urban Planning, and Napieralski was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in 2012 (Cyprus), while Draus was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in 2023 (Lithuania).

This PBL course was designed around many of their experiences. They are grateful for the opportunity to collaboratively develop this course (particularly from CASL), even though they proposed wearing matching track suits for the first class. They are also so very happy that many community members contributed their wisdom and experiences to the course, providing the students a first practice at being a global citizen.