After decades of steady decline, Detroit’s population is finally growing. Latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Detroit increased its population by 6,800 residents from 2023 to 2024.

And even more people seem to be moving to Detroit’s neighboring suburbs, with many housing investments being made in recent years in the city’s outer suburban ring and nearby “exurbs” like Lyon, Milford and Commerce townships.

Ro Harvard, a realtor with Island Realty — an affiliate of Keller Williams Realty — joined on The Metro on Thursday to shine some light on the inner workings of Detroit’s housing scene, and what types of amenities and priorities draw buyers to certain communities — from school districts and walkability to affordability and property values.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

In this edition of The Detroit Evening Report, new housing opens in Detroit’s Gateway Community. Plus, events around the city including theater, stargazing, drag shows and Black cinema.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Cathedral Arts Apartments open in Detroit’s Gateway Community

The City of Detroit celebrated the grand opening of the Cathedral Arts Apartments this week. The $19.7 million development brings 53 new housing units to the Gateway Community.

The project is a partnership between MHT Housing Inc. and the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, located across the street from the new building. In addition to residential space, the development includes commercial storefronts and a workforce development hub operated by MHT. The hub will connect Detroiters to job training, internships and employment opportunities.

More information: City of Detroit press release

Around Detroit: Events and activities

ACE Family Night at The Wiz – June 24
Detroit’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship (Detroit ACE) is hosting a special night at the Fisher Theatre featuring the Broadway hit The Wiz. The evening includes family-friendly activities and a Q&A with the cast starting at 6 p.m., followed by the show at 7:30 p.m. Discounted tickets are available.

Details: Detroit ACE Family Night

Northern Lights possible in Michigan – June 13–14
The aurora borealis may be visible in parts of Michigan this weekend, possibly as far south as Saginaw Bay. Best viewing times are expected to be within a couple of hours of midnight, weather permitting. Top viewing locations include Headlands International Dark Sky Park, Keweenaw Dark Sky Park, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Forecast details: Free Press article

United We Slay – June 28–29
United We Slay is a new event series featuring drag brunches, dance parties, queer mixers, and performances by talent from RuPaul’s Drag Race. Most events are free, with VIP tickets available to support the ACLU of Michigan.

More info: United We Slay on Linktree

Black Film in Focus – June 14
The Black Canon and Motor City Cinema Society present a night of cinematic storytelling at Newlab at Michigan Central. This event explores African American film history and features curated screenings from the Black Canon collection.

Event details and tickets: Michigan Central Events

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

For a long time, one of Detroit’s biggest challenges was blight. Generational disinvestment and residential flight left about 80,000 homes blighted by 2014. Since then, the city has removed or rehabbed thousands of properties. But blight and disinvestment have given way to a different problem: housing speculation.

To make quick profits, speculators, often from outside Detroit, buy homes cheaply, rent them out, and invest little to nothing in upkeep.

The City of Detroit once filed suit against several major speculators but dropped the cases more than a year ago, leaving many to wonder what happened and what harm remains. Will the city resume efforts to hold them accountable?

Today on The Metro, Aaron Mondry, senior reporter at Outlier Media, explores how rent-to-own housing agreements can be exploitative. These deals often lack legal protections and leave buyers vulnerable to eviction if payments are missed.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming  on demand.

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Detroit, like many parts of the country, is facing a housing crisis. 

Over half of renters in the city are cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their income on housing. 

Meanwhile, the number of homeless children in Detroit reached a record high last year, with 455 kids experiencing homelessness.

In her new book, “And Housing for All: The Fight to End Homelessness in America,” Maria Foscarinis says homelessness is the outcome of calculated political choices. She says these decisions have entrenched poverty and made stable housing unattainable. 

Foscarinis is an attorney and advocate who’s spent decades fighting for housing justice. She joined The Metro to discuss what it’s going to take to shift America’s approach to housing and treat it as a human right.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

Detroit residents will be voting for a new Mayor this year, and one Michigan State University Professor has some ideas on how the winner can improve support for neighborhoods during their term.

Deyanira Nevárez Martínez is an associate professor of urban and regional planning at MSU. She recently wrote an article for The Conversation outlining where Detroit needs the most work. 

She says there needs to be a focus on ensuring new growth in the city does not displace legacy residents.

“Maybe you look into programs where you can suspend their property taxes for a few years, or you look into programs that will help them invest into their own property and be able to make sure that they can stay in their property.”

Martinez suggested investing in more social infrastructure such as after school programs and community health clinics.

“There is a growing number of folks who need assistance with their housing. They’re not unhoused.” Martinez said. “They are struggling to pay rent, or they’re struggling with other issues. They need assistance with their health care. They need assistance with their schooling, and so those things are incredibly important as well for a thriving community.”

Martinez says the next mayor should prioritize developing more housing on vacant land in the city.

“We insist on having single family residential housing, and potentially, if you have a neighborhood that has several of these lots that are vacant, you can build duplexes on them or triplexes,” Martinez said. “Bring more density into a neighborhood, and then also bring housing types that could be accessible to different kinds of folks in the area as well.”

She also suggested investment in other vacant land opportunities that benefit neighborhood communities, highlighting the city’s solar neighborhood initiative as a great use of vacant land if done responsibly.