Taubman College “Preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing in Detroit: A Case Study of Oakman Boulevard Community along the Joe Louis Greenway” has been awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Project in the 2023 Planning Excellence Awards. The Michigan Association of Planning (MAP/APA Michigan) presented the award at its annual conference held in October 2023 at Grand Traverse Resort in Acme Township.
The team of students included Alexis Marie Farrell, Anthony Phan Bui, Christian Carroll, David Kevin Elam, Nicholas Robert Hill, Maria Garcia Reyna, Maya Joy Gingerich Baker, Michelle Marin, Melika Belhaj, Tianhong Ge, Yifei Sun. Lan Deng, professor of urban and regional planning, and Ph.D. student Rand Makarem served as advisors. The student team performed extensive research and community-engagement activities to evaluate the risks that small multi-family Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) properties face and develop recommendations to preserve them.
According to the team, “NOAH properties are market housing with affordable rents to low- and moderate-income households. In a country where government-subsidized affordable housing is in short supply, preserving NOAH properties is critical in mitigating the housing affordability crisis and preventing resident displacement. Working with the City of Detroit Housing and Revitalization Department, this capstone project examines NOAH preservation issues in the Oakman Boulevard Community neighborhood along the city’s proposed Joe Louis Greenway.”
The Michigan Association of Planning, the state chapter of the American Planning Association, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting sound community land use planning that benefits the residents of Michigan.
Learn more at: www.planningmi.org
