Walter P. Reuther Library
Wayne State University
Friday, April 24, 2026
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
Symposium
The Detroit Studies Symposium seeks to bring together scholars, community leaders, and activists to explore Detroit’s complex history and ongoing transformation. Drawing from interdisciplinary approaches within urban studies, architecture, art and design, anthropology, and history the symposium will critically examine themes of urban decline, racial justice, economic restructuring, and the prospects for building a more equitable city. By engaging with Detroit-focused research and fostering dialogue on community-led solutions, the symposium aims to deepen our understanding of how Detroit studies can inform practical policy changes and social equity in post-industrial cities.
Submission Topic Areas:
- Critically Analyze Detroit’s Urban Transformation: Participants will gain an in-depth understanding of Detroit’s historical development, including the impact of industrial decline, racial segregation, and economic restructuring. They will examine how these factors have shaped the city’s current challenges and opportunities for inclusive urban recovery.
- Explore the Role of Academic Research in Urban Policy: Attendees will learn how academic research in fields like sociology, urban planning, and African American studies can influence urban policy, particularly around issues such as housing equity, public infrastructure, and economic development. The symposium will highlight the translation of scholarship into actionable policy frameworks that address social justice in Detroit.
- Foster Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Urban Equity: The symposium will facilitate discussions across disciplines to reimagine Detroit’s future as an equitable city. Participants will engage with diverse perspectives, including community-based research, urban humanities, and public policy initiatives, to collaboratively explore strategies for equitable development and sustainable urban growth.
- Explore the Impact of Arts and Culture in Detroit Today: Attendees will learn about the ways in which arts and culture contribute to visions for Detroit’s past, present, and future. Participants will learn from institutions including arts and cultural entertainment venues, museums, neighborhood art installations, culturally engaged small businesses and more, how the arts and humanities contribute in many ways to Detroit’s present and future.
Schedule
| 9:00 am | Registration + Light Breakfast | |
| 9:30 am | Welcome + Reuther Tour | |
| 10:00 am | Detroit Studies History (Frank Rashid) | |
| 10:15 am | Keynote by Tawana Petty | |
| 11:00 am | Workshop: What Abolition Looks Like (Lauren Williams and Angel M.) | |
| 12:00 pm | Lunch/Poster Displays | Lightning Talks – Round One |
| 1:00 pm | Panel: Archives in Action (Marcia Black) | Lightning Talks – Round Two |
| 2:00 pm | Workshop: Haunting Detroit (Chera Kee) | Panel: Co-Designing for Detroit’s Future (Amanda Miller) |
| 3:00 pm | Panel: Detroit as Democratic Workshop (Paul Draus) | Panel: Access to Completion (Stacey Brockman) |
| 4:00 pm | Closing |
Yuson Jung and Dawn Batts: Beyond Hustling and the Individual Entrepreneur: Building a Black Tech Ecosystem in Detroit
D’Arcy Cook: Growing Pains for the Detroit Incinerator – Construction, Startup, and Sale, 1986-1991
Kyle Dunn and Rayman Mohammed: Mom and Pop Entrepreneurs, Land Bank Properties, and Grass Roots Development
Patrick Cooper-McCann: Planning the Future of Detroit’s Industrial Corridors
Greg Rybarczyk: Community Voices on E-Bicycle Adoption and Urban Mobility Transformation in Metro Detroit
Jenisha Rai and Carol Miller: Time to Bounce Forward? City of Detroit’s Response to the 2021 Flood
Erin Stanley: “A Fiber of Who We Are:” Relationships to Place amidst Dispossession in Detroit
Ana Cukovic: Working outside of the frame: Politics of migrant inclusion in Detroit
Robert W. Pfaff: Region, Race, Rail and Rubber: An Analysis of Transportation Planning History in Detroit Streetcars and Buses, 1922 – 1956
Richard A. Bachmann: Voices of a Neighborhood: An Oral History Archiving Project in the Woodbridge Neighborhood
Rahul Mitra, Nadia Gaber, Roslyn Bouier, and Shea Howell: Contesting Institutional Narratives and Core Assumptions about Detroit’s Mass Water Shutoffs: Collaborative Writing for Water Justice
Partners
This symposium is made possible with seed money from the Wayne State University Humanities Center through the Detroit Studies Working Group, funding from the Wayne State University Urban Studies & Planning Program, support from the UM Detroit Center, and coordination led by DETROITography.
Humanities Center
Detroit Studies Working Group, Wayne State University
✓ Detroit Studies Working Group
✓ Coordinating Committee
Dept. Urban Studies and Planning
Wayne State University
✓ Coordinating Committee
✓ Lunch Sponsor
✓ Print Support
Detroit Center
University of Michigan
✓ Coordinating Committee
Detroit Studies 
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