Detroit stands at another crossroad. But this time, it’s not just about who wins an election—it’s about whether Detroit finally centers its people in policy, or continues a legacy of planning that leaves its legacy residents behind. As signatures close and the mayoral race officially shifts into gear, Detroit Future City (DFC) has delivered more than a policy paper. It’s a challenge. A roadmap. A mirror. And for anyone aiming to occupy the mayor’s office come January, it’s a test of whether they are ready to lead with the kind of vision that speaks to Detroit’s present while repairing the fractures of its past.
DFC’s latest report, “Opportunities for the Next Mayoral Administration to Grow Detroit’s Middle Class,” calls attention to the economic inequities that still define Detroit’s neighborhoods. It outlines a blueprint centered on three priorities—building middle-class neighborhoods, generating wealth, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. While those words may echo themes from past administrations, this report cuts deeper. It refuses to gloss over the realities of how development has operated in Detroit for the last several decades—extractive, exclusionary, and often experimental on Black communities.
Only 26% of Detroit households fall within the middle-class income range of $62,000 to $155,000. That figure trails far behind the regional average of 39%. To Anika Goss, CEO of DFC, that stat alone reveals something deeper: a persistent failure to center economic equity in city governance. She notes that while the Duggan administration played a necessary role in stabilizing the city after bankruptcy, Detroit now needs leadership with a different charge.
“We were coming out of bankruptcy. We needed to identify investors in Detroit and we needed to stabilize the budget. All of it was unprecedented. But going forward, the question is—how do we build on that momentum to make sure every Detroiter has every opportunity to participate in an economic future?” she said. “Detroit is 77% Black, but that 77% is not participating in the economy. The next mayor will have to maintain investor confidence while repositioning Detroiters for growth wages and true economic inclusion.”
That duality—balancing economic growth with racial equity—is the throughline of DFC’s report. It emphasizes that building a true middle class in Detroit can’t be surface-level. It has to be intentional. It has to include wraparound supports, housing access, quality schools, and community-led safety initiatives. Goss is clear: the next mayor has to see beyond profit margins and recognize that growing the middle class is inseparable from investing in Detroiters as full participants in their neighborhoods.
But what does it mean to build a middle class from the ground up when the ground has been stripped bare?
Detroit’s public schools are still under-resourced. Public transit often fails to connect workers to regional job opportunities. Whole blocks of housing stock sit crumbling or vacant. Goss acknowledges this isn’t a simple fix—but it’s a necessary one.
“The mayor doesn’t really have control over the schools. But the superintendent has to be the next mayor’s best friend,” she said. “Detroiters should be in Detroit schools. If we can’t even get our kids an associate’s degree or a trade, then we’re failing. And transportation—that’s one of the hardest things. But at a minimum, our system has to get people to school and work. That has to be at the top of the next mayor’s list.”
She pushes that vision further when it comes to housing. Detroit doesn’t need to build its way out—it needs to reinvest in what already exists. “We could repopulate the city without building a single new house. But housing isn’t just about buildings. Housing is the neighborhood. You should be able to grow your income and still live here. Right now, that’s not the case for too many people.”
The conversation around wealth in Detroit cannot move forward without confronting how Black families have historically been locked out of wealth accumulation. That includes heirs’ property, a quiet but powerful force in both preserving and destabilizing generational wealth. DFC’s report urges the city to adopt reforms that support Black land retention.
“There’s $300 million of real estate locked up in heirs’ property in Detroit,” Goss explained. “That alone tells us this matters. We have to normalize estate planning in our community the same way we plan funerals. If you planned a funeral, you should also know who owns the house.”
Policy shifts are already underway. Wayne County now holds off on foreclosing properties flagged with heirs’ issues until they’re resolved. Michigan also leads the country on partition law reform, which prevents outside buyers from forcing sales of inherited family property. But those policies are only the beginning.
“There’s a whole movement forming around this. That’s family wealth. And if we don’t get this right, we’re going to lose more than just homes—we’ll lose history.”
DFC’s blueprint isn’t soft on accountability. It calls out the empty promises that have often followed workforce training programs, especially those targeted at Black Detroiters. For Goss, it’s not enough to build training pipelines—there has to be a guaranteed destination.
“We’re pushing trade programs, but where are the jobs?” she said. “This is where employers and the state have to be held accountable. If Detroiters go through training, they deserve jobs that pay. Not $12-an-hour scraps. Livable wages are part of the promise. If we’re not delivering that, then we’re setting people up for disappointment.”
That sense of urgency carries over into the conversation around climate justice. DFC doesn’t just frame environmental concerns as future problems—it names them as present-day emergencies. Detroiters, especially those on the east side, are already experiencing the consequences of aging infrastructure and redlining legacies that positioned low-income communities in flood-prone areas.
“Our infrastructure issues are rooted in structural racism,” Goss said. “Flooding, blackouts, heat islands—these aren’t accidents. They’re by design. The next mayor will need to challenge every level of government to change that.”
That includes pushing for accountability from utilities, rethinking energy access, and making public transit truly accessible. It also means addressing Detroit’s property tax system—one of the highest in the country—and rebalancing that burden by expanding the city’s middle class to support a broader tax base.
“We pay more in taxes than cities with better infrastructure. That’s unacceptable. A strong middle class is how we change that.”
When asked who controls the narrative around Detroit’s transformation, Goss doesn’t hesitate. “Detroit data should belong to Detroiters.”
She speaks to models like participatory budgeting and inclusive planning, where residents—not just agencies—shape policy. But she’s also clear this isn’t all on city government. “This has to include community organizations, universities, local leaders. A good mayor has partnerships in all of these areas. Transparency is everything.”
And when it comes to the question of whether this roadmap is realistic or simply ambitious, Goss doesn’t flinch.
“If you want to be mayor of this city, you have to do hard things,” she said. “Detroiters don’t want to ride a poverty train. They’re not interested in that narrative. A strong mayor should lead a strong city. This isn’t aspirational. This is necessary.”
As the candidates sharpen their platforms and voters begin to listen more closely, DFC’s report stands as both a challenge and a guidepost. Not because the ideas are new, but because the time to act on them is now. The city cannot afford another round of planning that skips over the people it claims to serve.
Detroit is watching. And this time, it’s asking for more than vision. It’s demanding proof of purpose.
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