Visioning Cass: A Roadmap for the Future

Abstract

Dexter-Linwood is a neighborhood on the near west side of Detroit. In the heart of this neighborhood sits Cass Community Social Services (CCSS), a non profit organization pursuing a mission to “make a profound difference in the lives of the diverse populations it serves by providing for basic needs, including affordable housing, promoting self-reliance and encouraging community involvement.” CCSS works to serve residents both inside and outside its immediate campus, delivering meals, providing healthcare, and maintaining job programs. As CCSS continues to grow and plan for the future, they sought a partnership with the University of Michigan's School for Environment and Sustainability to help them explore opportunities to continue to sustainably redevelop the neighborhood they serve in proactive, rather than reactive ways. With the goal to expand CCSS’s reach and deliver more options and programming to help carry out their mission in service to the community, the team’s project entailed creating a vision plan and roadmap for future sustainable redevelopment opportunities on and around CCSS’s campus. The “Sustainability Roadmap” consists of projects under the interconnected themes of economic development, health, clean energy, ecological health, community vitality, and strong partnerships, largely inspired from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Each theme includes goals for specific strategies CCSS could pursue to promote and enhance the theme and the overall mission of CCSS. Embedded in each goal are opportunities and best practices, informed through site visits, case studies, research, information gathering and project management, and include funding strategies, partnership opportunities, implementation plans, and design renderings in order to provide CCSS with a portfolio of potential plans to pursue. Additionally, in order to ensure that development and programming are in sync with the needs of the community, the team presents recommendations to CSSS for how to best deliver services based on community feedback and strategies for further participatory engagement. This document is intended to be a resource for CCSS, helping them sustainably expand their footprint, and leverage their position in the community in order to deliver greater benefits to the neighborhood and the populations they serve.