Research

Written by Morgan Schwanky and posted by Matt Bach The DTE Energy Foundation granted $1 million to The Nature Conservancy to fund a variety of projects that will aid the maintenance of Michigan’s natural resources, help continue to fund a fellowship program, advance urban environmental initiatives, and help educate communities....

The Michigan Municipal League’s 2021 Convention is taking place in person later this month and this year’s focus is around the Community Wealth Building work the MML started last year. The Convention, happening Sept. 22-24 in Grand Rapids during ArtPrize, centers on helping our local leaders spark a community revival...

We stand at a unique juncture in history. Across the globe, every country is in the midst of a global pandemic. While we attempted to grapple with the fallout from this health crisis, collective passions have been inspired to action by the injustices we have witnessed. Across America and beyond,...

As we evolve the Michigan Municipal League’s work into community wealth building, we’ve organized our approach into four focus areas, or “pillars.” These four pillars work together to support healthy and thriving communities, and can be found at various scales. From the League’s traditional position working at the municipal scale,...

The stay-at-home order has made such a difference for so many staying healthy during the pandemic, but, if we’re being honest, it’s been hard. We’ve felt disconnected, and sometimes bored. We miss our friends, our families and our coworkers. We miss being part of a social fabric that is made...

I went for a bike ride today.  It was chilly but sunny so I bundled up and jumped on.  I zipped through my city streets, onto the campus of Michigan State University, and finally out on the country roads south of campus.  It’s a ride I’ve done dozens of times,...

“Jiffy" Mix featured prominently in my childhood in Chelsea. Visually, of course, as the Chelsea Milling Co’s grain elevators loom over downtown, and also culturally: Jiffy factory tours were a regular elementary school field trip, and the annual Chelsea Fair Parade features their mascot Cornelius J. Box handing out corn muffin...

Food security is deeply embedded in local economic and financial stability, a core tenet of community wealth building, for both households and food producers. During the coronavirus pandemic, that kind of surety is ever more important for Michigan residents as we rely increasingly on existing local food systems. As evidenced by...