What residents in targeted investment areas think about their neighborhoods

• $260 million in investments so far has included streetscape improvements, affordable housing, parks and commercial development.

State of play: The 2019-2023 surveys analyze Detroiters' perceptions of their neighborhoods over time, comparing areas with Strategic Neighborhood Fund (SNF) involvement to those without, to assess the fund's effects.

• The findings indicate that overall neighborhood satisfaction declined from 2019 to 2021, likely influenced by the start of the pandemic in 2020, but many attitudes improved post-2021.
• SNF residents' satisfaction with amenities (including housing, parks, lot maintenance and sidewalks) recovered sooner and more quickly than those whose neighborhoods didn't see fund investments.

Context: The survey results revealed a nuanced picture of residents' sentiments that isn't easy to thread into a simple narrative. All 10 areas are vastly different, with different timelines for SNF project development, making comparisons difficult, Lydia Wileden, report author and U of M research associate, tells Axios.

• Plus, "we're still trying to understand what the [pandemic's] impact on neighborhoods was, but it really dramatically shifted how we experience the places where we live," Wileden says.

Flashback: The SNF started with three multi-neighborhood areas in 2016: the Villages, Livernois-6 Mile and Southwest.

• In 2018, it expanded to seven more, including Gratiot-7 Mile, Jefferson Chalmers and Warrendale-Cody Rouge.
• Factors that led the city to choose these areas included stable housing, promising commercial districts and salvageable buildings.

The report's other findings include:

• The residents' perception of their neighborhoods in SNF areas that are remarkably stable with less historic disinvestment were overall more favorable than those of both non-SNF residents and residents in SNF areas that are particularly disadvantaged.
• Overall, 69% of Detroiters said they were satisfied with their neighborhoods in 2019, compared with 62% last year. (The pandemic, inflation, social justice movements and concerns about crime and policing likely contributed.)

• Detroiters' satisfaction with housing affordability plummeted from around 32% in 2019 to about 20% in 2023. Store availability and public transit also fell, while parks and playground satisfaction jumped from 45% in 2021 to nearly 50% in 2023.

The surveys asked residents about their quality of life, neighborhood reputation, satisfaction with specific amenities, and thoughts on crime, housing, businesses and more.

• They took 9,000 observations from more than 4,000 residents through the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study.

What they're saying: The biggest takeaway from the report is that being "intentional" about collaborating with residents is the right way to do large-scale neighborhood development, says Jermaine Ruffin, senior vice president of neighborhoods for SNF manager Invest Detroit.

• But also: "We recognize there is more work to be done. While there's progress … the report shows fluctuation with satisfaction," Ruffin tells Axios.