The Dig - DETOUR

The Dig is Detour Detroit’s home for real estate, housing and development dirt. The Dig is bringing you stories, analysis and how-to guides about the built environment across Detroit’s 143 square miles. Sign up for The Dig newsletter, launching Fall 2020, to make sure you never miss a story.

Race track for Detroit Grand Prix shown on Belle Isle island park

Can one event hold back progress on Belle Isle? These activists think so.

A 1980s bargain pitted Detroit Grand Prix advocates against residents who fear the race is destroying the island park.

michigan central station development plan rendering aerial

Detroit’s Community Benefits Ordinance could be strengthened. Do the changes give residents enough power?

The Detroit Community Benefits Ordinance was the first of its kind in the nation -- but critics say it still needs to give residents more say.

She works in Detroit’s mortgage industry — but she could still barely get one for her own home

Banks are reluctant to offer mortgages on homes valued at less than $100,000. Detroit’s Black residents are paying the price.

aerial photo of belle isle in detroit, where upgrades are underway

Big changes are in the works at Belle Isle, Detroit’s favorite park

From a world-class garden to habitat restoration, millions of dollars are being put into upgrades at Belle Isle in Detroit.

Minutes from the train station, Ford Motor is radically redesigning its Dearborn campus. Almost no one has noticed.

There's a minor revolution underway at Ford, transforming the dowdy, car-choked campus of today into a modern, collaborative and green workplace of tomorrow.

How Detroit’s borders were drawn — and why it matters

Detroit borders are infamously contentious, from Grosse Pointe barriers to 8 Mile's symbolism -- and we’re still experiencing the effects of border disputes 100 years later.

eviction crisis is coming for michigan. illustration shows family using sinking house as life raft

Are Detroit’s poorest still paying more than their fair share of property taxes?

Despite a citywide reassessment, experts say taxes in the city continue to be inflated.

Who benefited the most from Motor City Match’s federal dollars? Hint: Not Detroit’s small business owners

A striking report from the city inspector general determined that less than 20% of the grant program's federal funds went directly to support small business awardees.

12 Detroit development projects to watch in 2021

From greenways to historic sites, here are the Detroit development projects to keep an eye on next year.

detroit housing market booming in 2020. illustration of real estate search site for detroit with prices increasing

The economy is in distress. But in 2020, Metro Detroit’s housing market took off.

“If no other homes came on the market, we’d be completely out of inventory in a little over 30 days,” said Jeanette Schneider, executive vice president of RE/MAX of Southeastern Michigan.

In Detroit, single-family homes are everywhere. But are they the future?

Single-family homes, complete with yards and driveways, are ubiquitous in Detroit -- but an urban policy expert poses that the city should consider alternative housing types to develop Detroit sustainably.

Diana Alaniz and her three children stand in front of their recently purchased house at the Newberry Homes in Detroit, through a Southwest Solutions program

Federal funding was set to expire at these low-income Detroit homes. So the nonprofit landlord turned renters into owners.

Instead of raising rates or simply continuing to subsidize rents for its low- to moderate-income renters, Southwest Solutions came up with another approach: sell the homes directly to tenants.

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