DAVIS is focused on utilizing neighborhood skills and talents to activate undervalued spaces of alleys in Detroit.
Charles Rivers, President of the Neighborhood Association, located in NW Detroit between Outer Drive and Livernois, Schaefer and the Lodge, has been working closely with Korey Batey of DAVIS (Detroit Ain’t Violent It’s Safe) and Paul Draus from the University of Michigan-Dearborn since the summer of 2020. Rivers will be coordinating resident participation in the activation of once-dormant alleyways through art, plantings and social activities through the spring and summer of 2021. Batey and Draus are working with students, faculty and funders to bring more features to the alley space, such as a smart rainwater harvesting system designed at UM-Dearborn, a resident-run composting station and an upcycled wind turbine designed by Detroit artist Carlos Nielbock which will be installed within alley network. Batey and Draus are working with students on 3D virtual reality designs that will also be shared at the event, with the opportunity for visitors to do some 3D virtual “re-alley” design themselves.
This showcase event will feature several activities and installations designed to bring back alleys into the foreground of urban neighborhood life. Event participants will see displays of proposed alley designs and completed alley murals and installations. They may also experience virtual reality (VR) alley designs and participate in generating new ideas for alleys using VR technology. Guided walking tours of the four-block alley network will be offered, as well as food and entertainment (to be determined).
