Millennial Vision for Metro Detroit

The Millennial Mayors Congress officially adopted its Millennial Vision for Metro Detroit on Saturday, December 3, 2011. See the full text at this link. 

The Millennial Mayors Congress envisions a metropolitan Detroit that works collaboratively to address shared problems, empowering individual communities to take local action towards regional change. Together, the region will elevate sustainability, equitable opportunity and access, a creative and innovative environment, and openness to new people and ideas.

Our vision consists of…

• A healthy, sustainable economy powered by entrepreneurship and innovation.
• An abundance of jobs across skill level and education, providing workers—especially young talent—with access to diverse employment opportunities.

• A vibrant region characterized by a network of compact, mixed-use spaces.
• Development, redevelopment and adaptive reuse that support and enhance existing neighborhoods and highlight the strong, authentic character of individual communities.

• A regional transportation network with many travel choices, including biking, walking and transit, that allows residents to easily, reliably and affordably access amenities across the metro area and within their own cities.

• An equitable primary and secondary education system in every community that prepares all students for the new economy.
• Affordable and accessible higher education.

• Representative, responsive, accessible and efficient local government.

• Energy efficiency and increased use of alternative energy sources.
• Abundant and healthy open space, waterways and outdoor recreation opportunities.

Help us make this vision a reality. We’ll be refining this document and its language over the next few months. Contribute to the vision by giving us feedback: do we describe your ideal future? In December, the Millennial Mayors Congress will adopt this vision as its own, calling on its member communities to do the same. We’ll then seek to implement our vision, adopting specific issue protocols that will transform our cities and the region.

To achieve these ideals, the Congress seeks to give a voice to diverse leadership and embrace the distinct and authentic identities and strengths of our member communities. It’s up to us to shape our ideal future and create a stronger, sustainable, more vibrant metro Detroit. 

Respond in the comments, and check out our issue pages (click on the icons) for more info on each section of the vision. You can also read up on the background of the vision with our Millennial Vision issue briefs, which explore how metro Detroit's doing and explain how we came up with this vision. Check them out here!