Reimagining Eastern Market

B.S. Urban Tech students explore urban systems for a historic Detroit hub in Strategic Design Studio

Upstairs in the East Wing of Taubman College, tucked in a back section by expansive bay windows, you’ll often find a group of students debating, collaborating, and designing. The Urban Technology studio brings students together in a setting that mirrors the pace and complexity of professional design practice.

Across the Urban Technology studio sequence, students build skills in user interface design, public service design, and urban ethnography. The sequence culminates in Strategic Design and Urban Systems, a senior studio that asks students to bring those approaches together in response to complex urban questions. During the fall 2025 semester, seniors visited Detroit and developed innovative visions for the future of Eastern Market. 

Unlike past studios, where students worked on multiple projects over the course of a semester, Strategic Design assigned seniors a single, semester-long project. For Breandan Cullen, B.S. Urban Tech ’26, the new format made the work more immersive.

“The project became more interesting as it went on, and it remained engaging the whole time,” Cullen said. “It was cool to see it from start to finish and get to go from this established system in the world that’s very complex and related to a lot of different social and cultural phenomena in Detroit, and break that down into one issue and really explore that whole world in full.”

Co-taught by Bryan Boyer, faculty director of the B.S. in Urban Technology, and Wonyoung So, assistant professor of Urban Technology, the studio began with a visit to Eastern Market, where students heard from Katy Trudeau, president of Eastern Market Partnership. A few days later, they visited the market on a Saturday to conduct in-depth field research on topics such as transportation and accessibility. The Detroit site visit was a shift from previous studios, which had focused on projects closer to Ann Arbor.

“Eastern Market was really a treat to visit and design for,” said Owen Woertink, B.S. Urban Tech ’26. “Just a bustling vibrance of local histories and possible futures that inspire a growing Detroit.”

Using what they learned from their site visit, students drafted research reports on the market and were eventually grouped for the semester by topics: real estate, transportation, data commons, farming, and the social value of time. In past studios, students focused on solving a specific problem, but Boyer emphasized imagining possible futures and goals. 

B.S. Urban Tech ’26 students Cheyenne Haller, Emma Vitet, Dylan Ingui, and Trini Sernas reimagined Eastern Market as a daily community hub powered by a time-based economy.

“Our project proposes a time-banking system that activates Detroit’s abundant historic spaces and vibrant community,” Haller says. “In this economy, participation is currency. As participants contribute time and care to the city and their fellow residents, they earn access to free events and gain the trust required to host gatherings of their own in currently underutilized spaces.”

Although their proposal pushed beyond conventional assumptions and prompted discussion during the final review, Haller said it was important to get out of the group’s comfort zone.

“It was really encouraging to see all of it finally come together,” Haller says. “This studio differed from others because it forced us to push beyond the guidelines of previous studio projects. We were continually challenged to make our solutions more creative, innovative, and applicable, which allowed us to produce work that we were really proud of.”

As the final course in the studio sequence, Strategic Design offers students the opportunity to use everything they have learned in the Urban Technology program before graduating. Students said the studio also strengthened skills they expect to carry into their careers, including presenting complex ideas, responding to critique, and revising their work.

“I can take a critique and improve from it, which I realize now is a developed skill,” Cullen says. “I’m very comfortable presenting in front of people, talking to people, talking about my thought process, and being very transparent about that.” 

Haller echoes Cullen’s sentiments and emphasizes the importance of separating herself from her work.

“You are always worthy, even when your work is challenged,” she says. “In fact, the challenges at hand are present because your work is valuable enough to be improved. The critiques will only grow your character and the quality of your work.”

– Joshua Nicholson, B.S. Urban Tech ’26

Highlighted UT Strategic Design final projects can be viewed in the 2026 Student Show.