Michigan Local Leaders Convene Forum

September 12, 2011

by James Brooks

Leaders from 20 of Michigan’s largest cities gathered in Lansing for a special forum on neighborhoods and local economies on September 8. The event was organized by NLC, the Michigan Municipal League (MML) and the Michigan State Housing Development Agency (MSHDA).

The mayors, mayors pro tem, planning directors and economic development directors engaged in a wide-ranging discussion focused on connecting their neighborhoods and cities to the opportunities in their region that will generate the next wave of economic growth and prosperity.

Presentations were delivered by Shelley Poticha, director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and by Harvey Hollins, director of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s Office of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives.

This forum follows one held in April 2011 under the guidance of MSHDA. The agency collaborates with a coalition of cities to manage and administer the state’s very large Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grant.

These discussions, and NLC’s role as a partner, seek to support the creative and innovative initiatives being undertaken by those charged with community stabilization, rehabilitation and economic revitalization.

As part of NLC’s ongoing project work in the fields of housing, neighborhoods and regional economies, the findings from this forum will be summarized and reported.

The results also will support NLC’s educational programming efforts to help other cities learn from the experiences of their peers in Michigan.

This project was made possible through the support of the MacArthur Foundation and the University of California at Berkeley.

Details: For more information about NLC’s program on community development and infrastructure, contact Jim Brooks at (202) 626-3163 or by e-mail at brooks@nlc.org.