The Metro

As Detroit has been changing over the last decade, one word has come up again and again to describe the city: gentrification. 

Sharon Cornelissen is the author of “The Last House on the Block: Black Homeowners, White Homesteaders, and Failed Gentrification in Detroit.” She lived in Detroit's Brightmoor neighborhood for years, and says that while American cities pay a lot of attention to gentrification, they should focus more on population decline and disinvestment.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

The city of Trenton is hosting its first ever Noel Nights. The three-week event aims to bolster its local businesses and highlight extracurricular activities. 

This is the first year Trenton has a Downtown Development Authority Director.  Angelia Pusino is a lifelong resident of Trenton and the city's first Director of Downtown Development Authority. 

The Metro’s Tia Graham spoke with Angelia about the three week long event, family friendly activities and what makes Trenton a tight-knit community. 

Michigan’s long battle over water affordability is entering a pivotal moment. After years of shutoffs, mounting household debt, and aging infrastructure, lawmakers are reviving a statewide plan to guarantee safe, affordable water—and to finally protect residents from losing access to a basic human necessity.

Democratic State Senator Stephanie Chang and People’s Water Board Coalition organizer Sylvia Orduño joined host Robyn Vincent to break down the new legislation, the political stakes, and what Michigan stands to gain or lose as the push to treat water as a human right reaches the Senate floor.

Choosing the right tree to plant that will thrive long into the future just got easier.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently released a 57 page species selection guide that rates species for climate change resiliency and hardiness using characteristics like size, shade and rainwater absorption.

Lawrence Law is an urban and community forester and partnership coordinator with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He led the development of the Michigan Communities Tree Species Selection Guide.

Law spoke with David Leins on The Metro about how people can use the guide to choose the right tree for their yard or right-of-way.

WDET's Detroit Tree Canopy Project is supported by a grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 

Health isn’t just influenced by the choices we make. It’s also determined by public policy.

A new report reached this conclusion after examining how health in Michigan is limping behind others around the country. On average, resident lifespans are shorter, infant mortality rates are higher, and Michiganders are more likely to suffer from cancer and other diseases than their peers in other states. 

Karley Abramson is a health policy research associate for the Citizens Research Council, which published the report. She spoke with host Robyn Vincent.

History and its depictions of beauty are often shaped by those in charge. For centuries, the European archetypes of beauty and desirability have dominated the narrative. 

Venus is the Roman name for the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Images of her—often created and adapted in favor of the male gaze—have been the prevailing image of beauty and love. 

But what happens when Venus imagines herself as something else? What would it look like to have her represent a Black woman? Or simply a whole complete person?

Cydney Camp is a Detroit-based artist who unpacks and deconstructs inherited images. In her latest exhibit, she explores what it means to be a goddess that isn’t perceived as an object.

"Venus Undone" is Cydney’s solo exhibition at M Contemporary Art in Ferndale. It runs through Dec. 6, inviting audiences to rethink how we define beauty and female autonomy. 

Eric Anderson spent about nine years in prison for a robbery he didn’t commit. The case rested on one person claiming he was the robber. Wayne County now says that claim wasn’t reliable.

A new report from prosecutors, public defenders, Detroit police, judges, and advocates traces how that mistake happened. Valerie Newman, the Deputy Chief and Director of the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Conviction Integrity Unit, explores that and more. 

The vast majority of popular online games like Roblox, Genshin Impact, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have in-game currency, encouraging all players to spend real money on digital prizes. The University of Sydney reports when some young people encounter digital currency they often don’t understand how much real money they’re spending.

Many of these games, even ones catered toward young audiences, have mechanics that mimic the effect of slot machines, and use them to generate a lot of their revenue.

Nick Devor is a journalist who specializes in reporting on the gambling industry. He joins The Metro to tell about the different ways video games can imitate and encourage gambling. 

America faces a number of problems today, such as climate change, income and wealth inequality and hyper partisanship.

Paul Fleming, an associate professor of public health at the University of Michigan, believes we need to focus more on preventing problems from happening in the first place.

He details this in his new book, “Imagine Doing Better,” which he hopes will help leaders get to the root of problems before crisis occurs. 

Home ownership is considered to be a critical piece of the American Dream.

Wealth is often passed down from generation to generation through homes. But, in Detroit, there are many properties that have not been properly passed down from parent to child or relative. Why? And how can that be changed?

WDET's Sam Corey spoke with Shari Williams, the Director of Equitable Neighborhood Planning for Detroit Future City, to learn more.