Director of the Planning & Development Department Antoine Bryant is ready to engage the community in new ways from a municipal development perspective.
Photo By Herbert Taylor
The City of Detroit has a new leader at the helm of the Planning Department who is more than willing and determined to grow the city in a new equitable direction.
Antoine Bryant, director of the Planning & Development Department, comes to Detroit from Houston, following 25-plus years as a planner, architect & community advocate focused on engagement, equity, according to a press release.
Mayor Mike Duggan announced on Thursday, July 22 that he nominated Bryant to serve after a nationwide search.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of the national reputation that Antoine brings to lead the process of redeveloping our neighborhoods in close collaboration with residents,” Duggan said in a press release. “He has a clear commitment to – and a long track record of – deep community engagement and developing a vision and plan that reflects the desires of residents.”
Bryant’s career has centered around the development and social empowerment of underserved communities. He is a nationally recognized thought leader in civic engagement, urban planning, and community-led design. According to the press release, he also directed efforts across the country, from neighborhood plans to full-scale strategic planning activities.
Bryant, 47, told the Michigan Chronicle in a recent interview that his name kept coming up in Detroit when city officials conducted a national search.
He said that Donald Rencher, who serves as the group executive of Housing, Planning, and Development, told him about the city’s hunt for a new leader in that space.
“The people of Detroit now have an even better team helping to create a better city,” Rencher said in the release. “The fact that Detroit has been able to recruit a leader of Antoine’s talent speaks to the work the Planning & Development Department is doing day in and day out. I am proud of the team that we have put into place and cannot wait to see them execute their vision for the people of this city, a vision of empowerment and equity built on the needs and feedback of our residents.”
At his previous position, Bryant was a business development and project manager working at Ohio-based Moody Nolan Architects (the largest African American firm in the country) for the past 17 years.
At Moody Nolan, he worked on projects in historic African-American neighborhoods in Houston. Throughout his work, Bryant has been intentional in his efforts to empower those who have undergone various levels of disenfranchisement and ensuring that they have a deliberate voice in the improvement and growth of their community.
Bryant received his bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Studies from Cornell University and his master’s of architecture from the University of Texas.
Bryant said that he appreciated Detroit’s interview process, which included being interviewed by people who would report to him – along with being interviewed by other departments and executives, along with the mayor.
“They asked me to come to Detroit,” Bryant said, adding that when he came to Detroit, he met with external entities to get a better understanding of how he would fit in the city framework and work with others in philanthropy, investments, and more.
“Quite frankly I appreciate it – it gave me an opportunity to engage in these entities on the front end,” Bryant said, adding that he is looking forward to hitting the ground running on many projects and plans in the city.
Bryant said that his work is an “interesting arc” and “fulfilling in every way,” and he is already engaging residents on his department’s work.
“Most people don’t know what the planning and development department really means,” Bryant said, adding that the department is also sometimes seen as just “physical development planning.” “I look at it that at its core planning can serve as the foundation for the entire way a city develops — not looking at only the creations of the physical environment but many other arenas that help support that.”
Bryant added that he is helping lead his department by strategically addressing infrastructure needs in the city.
“I’ve been here three weeks already — seen it my second day,” he said of recent flooding in Detroit, adding that the Planning Department can help assist in creating the conversation among other departments in the city while getting from point A to point B in the planning work.
From thinking about street safety and community planning to giving residents a voice – Bryant said he is “very intentional” when it comes to talking about engagement.
Bryant added that he has made it a pledge that his department is going to “touch” every Detroit neighborhood (roughly 150 to 200). Presently, the city has active projects in about 40 neighborhoods already, and he is looking forward to the process of connecting with all of them in the next eight months.
“In the last couple weeks (I’ve) talked to people and asked them what do they want to see in Detroit,” Bryant said, adding that he’s gotten a lot of answers. “It opens up the flood gates, which is exactly what I want… we want to make community engagement a core. That way we know we’re not only headed in the right direction (but) residents Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Smith they’re playing a role.”
He added that one of the things that got him interested in architecture and planning was his background.
“I grew up in Brooklyn — grew up in the projects; terrible neighborhood during the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Bryant said, adding that he told his dad he wanted to change where they lived. “He steered me to architecture.”
He added that with architecture, a person is designing one entity like a building, and not necessarily having “influence” over the entire system.
“It became abundantly clear” to him that design and planning was his way to go — with a caveat.
Bryant will lead the city’s neighborhood redevelopment strategy and the ensuring residents play a leading role in the planning process – a task that will be greatly aided by his extensive background in civic engagement, community-led design, and social empowerment of underserved communities.
“Too often we’re in design and planning (and) we’re not engaging the actual residents,” he said, adding that it makes sense to him to connect with residents who live near the buildings he is designing and projects he is overseeing.
“I made it as a core (mission) — I’m going to be actively involved in the cities I’m designing for; planning for, and residents will have an active voice in how their city neighborhood and particular development comes to be,” Bryant said. “It’s more authentic — I can tell a story. I lived this experience.”
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