AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE IN DETROIT

Praxia Partners’ Water Equity Detroit identified the opportunities for lasting institutional change and social empowerment in the midst of crises. Today, Detroiters are paying the price for years of mismanagement and exploitation that’s restricted their access to water and waste services. And it’s not just the Motor City: access to water is a human rights issue that increasingly impacts communities across the world.

That’s why we funded, researched, and produced Water Equity Detroit’s groundbreaking report, which proposes a path forward that empowers, rather than exploits, the people of Detroit and the city’s massive water and sewer infrastructure. Our recommendations include:

• Stopping predatory residential water shutoffs
• Creating consumer protections
• Implementing legislative reforms
• Reworking Detroit’s lease and service agreement
• Embracing green infrastructure

Furthermore, the report offers a blueprint for other cities struggling with water insecurity. As the report notes, “Communities across the US need solutions to what has been described as among the primary infrastructural challenge of the twenty-first century.”

Our partners included the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at UC Berkeley and MOSES, alongside many invaluable community partners.