Municipal master plans set the tone for how communities handle many important issues like land use, transportation, housing, and recreation. But some municipal planners are just beginning to figure out how to use the city master plan work to set meaningful goals for advancing social equity in their communities. That's according to "Are We Planning for Equity?" a study published in November in the Journal of the American Planning Association by Wayne State University researchers Carolyn Loh and Rose Kim. Loh and Kim developed a plan equity evaluation tool and used it to analyze 48 comprehensive plans from communities across Michigan, measuring the degree to which they incorporated practices and recommendations to advance equity. Loh says a master plan can incorporate equity into its goals in many different ways. Housing goals can stipulate a wide range of housing sizes, price points, and types that appeal to people of diverse income levels. Transportation goals can emphasize the importance of public transit, particularly adjacent to new housing developments, for those who can't afford a car. Plans can establish goals for climate resiliency, taking steps to ensure that marginalized residents aren't disproportionately exposed to flooding or heat vulnerability. Economic development goals can seek to ensure that development benefits lower-income neighborhoods instead of just favoring high-rent downtowns. "Are you recommending accessible housing for a variety of folks, that's in a safe place, that's connected to a transportation system that's going to let them access the things they need?" Loh says. "If you had it in one sentence ... that's what you're looking for."  

The city of Detroit is cleaning up one alley at a time while giving a second chance to the people who are coming out of jail or prison. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, "returning citizens" face unemployment at a rate of over 27% higher than the rest of the population. Delvin Wallace is a returning citizen, a free man since January 2020. He takes advantage of work opportunities like at the COVID-19 testing site at the former State Fairgrounds through "Detroit At Work." The program then got him connected to the city's alley cleanup project in August. Sheryl Kubiak, dean of the School of Social Work at Wayne State University, used to run a re-entry program in the city for women. She said going from a regimented life behind bars to a free society full of choices can be overwhelming. "Having employment that provides you with a regular schedule, that provides you with socialization to others who are doing, kind of, the work of life is really a helpful support benefit. But the more meaningful the employment is and the higher the wages, the most likely people aren't going to go back into criminal behavior," Kubiak said.

Schools have reopened, restaurants are back in business and thousands of baseball fans could soon get to enjoy an annual spring tradition: Detroit Tigers’ Opening Day. One year and a week after Michigan confirmed its first case of COVID-19, a massive vaccination effort is driving the state toward something approaching normal. But health experts warn the promise of herd immunity is still months away. And after a precipitous decline in December, January and February, Michigan is now seeing one of the fastest increases in daily coronavirus cases in the nation. “It’s a very dangerous time, because ... (more) people are vaccinated, but people are letting their guard down and not masking and not social distancing,” said Dr. Teena Chopra, an infectious disease specialist with Wayne Health and Wayne State University. “There is a lot of pandemic fatigue.” 

There is plenty of excitement from people who are taking advantage of free COVID-19 vaccines offered through Wayne Health from Wayne State University and their mobile medical units. On Monday people pulled up to the New Bethel Baptist Church and they didn't even have to leave the driver's seat to get their first Covid shot. Others will get a chance to get theirs as Wayne Health visits neighborhoods as part of a new pilot program. "This is what is needed for us to get beyond on the pandemic," said Dr. Phillip Levy, Wayne Health. "We have to wear masks we have to continue to social distance. But the more people that can get vaccinated the sooner we can reach herd immunity." For months Wayne State University and its physician group Wayne Health, have taken vehicles across Detroit where they've done Covid tests and other health screenings. Now they are part of a statewide pilot program to make sure everyone has access to the vaccine. Levy, the chief innovation officer, says it's especially important to meet Detroiters where they're at. because while most drove up to Monday's clinic- not everyone has a car. "There's a lot of transportation challenges despite it being 'The Motor City,'" he said. "A lot of people don't have cars and a lot of people can't get ready access to public transportation. And they have to rely on somebody to drive them to existing vaccination sites."

Spotlight on the News examined where we are on vaccinations and social services, 1-year after COVID-19. Guests included Veronica V. McNally, J.D., the only Michigan member of the Center for Disease Control Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; social work experts Shantalea Johns, Ed.D. and Megan Hicks, Ph.D., both from Wayne State University.

While physical activity has long been established as having a positive effect on people with depression, studies have found that effect increases significantly in an outdoor rather than indoor setting. Erika Bocknek is an associate professor of educational psychology at Wayne State University who specializes in child mental health and buffering the impact of stress and trauma on children. Bocknek says one commonly discussed component of mental health is the ability to regulate negative emotions, but it's important to "up-regulate" positive emotions like joy as well. "It's become very clear to me that our outdoor spaces play an extremely vital role in how healthy relationships have a place to do their best work for children and their positive mental health outcomes," she says. "And I think that became especially clear to me during the pandemic, when being outdoors was essentially the only and best option for ensuring that human contact and relationships were thriving." Bocknek says many of the conversations she's had with fellow task members have revolved around the importance of joy during the pandemic's challenges and "how to make our outdoor spaces the stage, so to speak, for joy to do its best work."

The Great Grocer Project, a community-based program to strengthen relationships between independently owned grocery stores and their customers in Detroit, launched on Wednesday. The program is a joint initiative by Wayne State University, the Detroit Food Policy Council and members of the Detroit Grocery Coalition, according to a press release. It also aims to provide support to increase awareness and sales of healthy foods within Detroit neighborhood. Detroit has nearly 70 full-service grocery stores, almost all of which are family or independently owned. The Great Grocer Project will train and host fellows in seven community-based organizations, which will then adopt a grocery store in each of Detroit's districts. Fellows will work with store owners to help them better compete with big-box grocery stores by improving their relationships with customers and conducting food and nutrition assessments.

Hours before the NBA changed the course of sports history last March—suspending its season and carving a bold new path to combat the coronavirus—the league found itself confronting a different foe: public health officials. Local leaders in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco were urging citizens not to gather in large groups, and pleading with sports teams to shut out fans, to help prevent the virus’ spread. The message was not well received by the NBA franchises operating in those jurisdictions. Fourteen of the NBA’s 30 teams are now allowing fans to attend games again, albeit in limited numbers, and with strict rules on social distancing and mask wearing—and in some arenas, with rapid coronavirus tests required upon entry. Six more teams will begin admitting fans this month. Gretchen Newman, an assistant professor of infectious disease at Wayne State University in Detroit, called the decision to allow fans “profoundly stupid and unnecessary.” “We could just be not doing this and not putting anybody at risk at all, and we would all be fine and go on with our day,” Newman says. “On the other hand, in the background of what is happening nationwide, do I think that this is the biggest threat to people? No, I do not. ... It’s the wrong choice, but it’s a minor wrong choice in comparison to all the other wrong choices that are being made.”

The Wayne State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences has teamed with the state to develop behavioral and mental health training and support for Michigan first responders and their families to address stress from the job. The program, Frontline Strong Together, will be available electronically and in-person to first responders and their families this year in most of Michigan’s 83 counties. The program is being developed and implemented with assistance from the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Department of Corrections, paramedics and dispatchers. Deadline Detroit's Craig Fahle talked about the program with Dr. Alireza Amirsadri, an associate professor of psychiatry at Wayne State.

Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson addressed the fall semester during his Feb. 23 address to the community and posted on his Instagram account. Wilson said there is a restart committee that has been meeting regularly and he predicted that classes would also be mostly in-person. "We've been pretty conservative thus far and we've tried to not say things that we have to walk back," Wilson said. "This is a difficult one to really know for sure ... My best guess is that we will be predominantly face to face. It's going to be modified and we will still be social distancing. We probably won't have huge classrooms of 200-300 people. We'll spread out more. I think we'll predominantly face to face." Wilson said he believes that because COVID-19 cases and deaths have plummeted he expects vaccine supply to outpace demand by late April. "I believe most of the classes, or many of the classes, will be face to face," Wilson said. Most Michigan State University students will be returning to in-person classes in the fall and spectators are expected to be in the stands for sporting events, President Samuel Stanley announced Friday. University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel said last month that plans for the fall semester are underway and UM officials are monitoring the virus and vaccination efforts nationwide. Ferris State University announced this week it is also planning in-person classes.

As advocates question the number of coronavirus vaccines going to Black and Brown recipients across the country, officials from the City of Detroit say even though the data is incomplete, they are sure that vaccines are predominantly being administered to Black Detroiters. City officials reported Tuesday that 70 percent of its vaccine recipients have voluntarily shared racial demographic data. However, over 26,000 vaccine recipients, or about 30 percent of all vaccine recipients by Tuesday, chose not to share their race, leaving a gap of unknowns of who is receiving the coronavirus vaccine in Detroit. Dr. Herbert Smitherman, vice dean of diversity and community affairs at Wayne State University and president and CEO of Health Centers Detroit Foundation, said it’s important to recognize the cases and death rates out of Detroit compared to the rest of the state when determining how to distribute vaccines. He cited the Dying Before Their Time report and the “longitudinal, historic challenges that African Americans and older African Americans have experienced in the United States.”

Wayne State University is offering comprehensive behavioral and mental health training and a support program for the state's first responders and their families to address everyday job stress. Statistics indicate that more first responders die from suicide than from injuries sustained in the line of duty, said Dr. David Rosenberg, chair of the WSU Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. Called Frontline Strong Together, mental health services will be available electronically and in person to first responders and their families in nearly all of Michigan's 83 counties this year, WSU said. Funded by a $2 million grant from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the program will offer education, training, support and treatment services. First responders include police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, dispatchers and corrections personnel and their families. Partners include the Michigan Professional Firefighters Union, the Fraternal Order of Police, the state Department of Corrections, paramedics and dispatchers. "Frontline Strong Together distinguishes Wayne State University in that the research we do is not in some ivory tower. This is right in the trenches with the community, in real time, to develop evidence-based approaches to help as many people as possible," said Rosenberg in a statement. "We go where the data is and implement the best practices."

Before diving into weighty topics like voter-suppression laws and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the four hosts of the "#SistersInLaw" podcast are sharing some good news about COVID-19 vaccines. "My parents both are going to get their second doses next week,” says Kimberly Atkins, who was born in Detroit and grew up in Oak Park. "Some of my siblings have gotten doses. … Having the people that I love get vaccinated has been wonderful news for me.” Joyce Vance, Jill Wine-Banks and Barb McQuade have encouraging vaccine updates, too. The "#SistersInLaw" podcast debuted Jan. 29, led by three former U.S. attorneys —McQuade, Vance and Wine-Banks — and Atkins, a former lawyer and current journalist. She is a senior opinion writer at the Boston Globe. Atkins went to Wayne State University as an undergraduate and Boston University for law school. She also has a graduate degree in journalism from New York's Columbia University. “College was essentially me trying to occupy myself for four years until I could get to law school, which was what I really wanted to do," she says. But she also "really loved" writing for Wayne State's South End student newspaper. In law school and as a young practicing attorney, she missed journalism. That led to her decision to switch careers. Atkins describes the communication style of the hosts of "#SistersInLaw" with a hint of laughter. "I notice how we give each other a chance to speak. There’s not a lot of showboating. In fact, I think it’s the opposite," she says. But there is more to it than the tendency of women to interrupt less than men during conversations. Says Atkins, "We’re four people who really respect each other's views, respect each other’s expertise and like each other. We also very much care about the topics that we're talking about. I think that is the essential part of it, more than the gender.”

Many college campuses have been sources of community spread of COVID-19 over the past year. Big schools like the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have at times struggled to curb spread and socialization among the student body. Wayne State University, however, has had fewer than 500 cases, and only 60 cases popping up so far this year. How did the largest university in the state’s biggest city manage to pull off those low numbers? We spoke with WSU President M. Roy Wilson, who explained the measures the school has taken that have led to significantly less spread. 

Wayne State University has announced an initiative to help frontline workers get a break in the cost of education. The Frontliners Forward Scholarship will offer $4,000 dollars to essential frontline employees looking to secure a bachelor’s degree in any field. To be eligible, students will need to have first completed the state’s Futures for Frontliners program enacted by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Essentially, all they have to do is apply as a transfer student,” says Dawn Medley, associate vice president of enrollment management for Wayne State University. “They apply for admission, then let us know they were a part of that program and it’s an automatic reward.” For the estimated 625,000 essential workers across the state, Wayne State University is ensuring a chance at completing a bachelor’s degree on their terms. Knowing essential workers are typically the breadwinners, flexible class schedules are offered to help ease work-school balance. “We have incredibly flexible schedules. Time is going to march on and you can be five years down the road with or without a degree,” Medley says. “It can change the economic future for you and your family.”

David Greer thought his Wayne State men's basketball team was a year away from being in this position. That position is sole Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champions for the first time since 1999. But when you have dynamic guards, anything's possible. "We had some really good guards, and any time you've got a good backcourt, you've got a chance," said Greer, who's in his 20th season as the program's head coach. "We played a lot of close games, and have been able to win a number of those." Wayne State (12-5) clinched the championship in the regular-season finale Saturday, with a 70-68 victory over 2018 national champion Ferris State in the men's program's final game at Detroit's Matthaei Center. This fall, the Warriors move into a new $25 million arena that they will share with the Pistons' new G-League affiliate. The rest of this season's games will be on the road, starting Thursday at John Friend Court in Hammond, Indiana, site of the GLIAC tournament. Wayne State got a first-round bye play an opponent to be determined by Tuesday's games at campus sites. Then it's possibly onto the Division II NCAA Tournament, which will be played this season after last year's tournament was canceled by COVID-19.

313 Reads is a Collective Impact Coalition that supports programs in direct service to Detroit children. The organization is also part of the Detroit Education Research Partnership at Wayne State University, which has released several reports on Detroit literacy and education. These reports have pointed to a lack of access to resources that have created more barriers to literacy proficiency for Black and Brown students within Detroit than students in other parts of the state. Sarah Lenhoff, an assistant professor at Wayne State University and director of the Detroit Education Research Partnership, questioned whether this year can be used to gain an “accurate picture” of student achievement. “Are we using meaningless terms to compare (students) to other years?” asked Lenhoff, who also said students lack “reliable” technology and broadband access. Lenhoff said chronic absenteeism has played a major role in Detroit’s literacy rates, which may also be a burden this year to students who were not consistently attending school during the pandemic. “Parents want to get their students to school, they just face these little barriers in doing so,” Lenhoff said. “Policies and practices that are focused on an accountability of punishing parents or students for missing school really just missed the boat in terms of what is really going on.”

After receiving emergency use approval from the Federal Drug Administration, the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine has become the third COVID-19 vaccination available in the country. Authorized for individuals age 18 and older, the J&J vaccine only requires one dose and can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures, which will make widespread dissemination throughout the state and country considerably easier. An ongoing randomized, placebo-controlled study conducted in the U.S., Mexico, South Africa and some of South America, within which 19,630 participants received the vaccine and 19,691 received saline placebo, has found the vaccine was approximately 67 percent effective at least 14 days after vaccination and 66 percent effective at least 28 days after vaccination in preventing moderate to severe/critical COVID-19. When it comes to preventing strictly severe/critical COVID-19, the study showed approximately 77 percent efficacy at least 14 days after vaccination and 85 percent efficacy at least 28 days after vaccination. “This vaccine is not only highly effective against severe disease in the United States, but was also highly effective against the highly transmissible South African variant that is now showing up in the United States,” said Paul Kilgore, M.D., MPH, one of the co-principal investigators of the J&J trial at Henry Ford that began in November, and an associate professor and director of research in the Department of Pharmacy at Wayne State University, in a press release. “It is 100 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths and is also equally effective across all races, including whites, African Americans and Hispanics.”

Responding to concerns about discrimination against Black people, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins today issued an unusual public apology for what he called “structural racism in biomedical research” and pledged to address it with a sweeping set of actions. NIH’s long-running efforts to improve diversity “have not been sufficient,” Collins wrote in the statement. “To those individuals in the biomedical research enterprise who have endured disadvantages due to structural racism, I am truly sorry.” The agency plans “new ways to support diversity, equity, and inclusion,” and will also correct policies within the agency “that may harm our workforce and our science,” he added. NIH’s move is, in part, a response to last year’s incidents of police brutality as well as the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Black people. An ACD working group on diversity released a report on Friday that calls for NIH to “acknowledge the prevalence of racism and anti-Blackness in the scientific workforce.” The group focused specifically on Black people and not groups such as Native Americans because of the country’s 300-year legacy of slavery and segregation, says co-chair M. Roy Wilson, president of Wayne State University.

After traveling nearly 300 million miles for the last 6 months, NASA’s rover ‘Perseverance’ has landed safely on Mars. Shortly after its arrival on the Red Planet last month, it sent back its first images of the Martian atmosphere and landing site, setting off imaginations all over the country. So what does this mission mean in terms of exploring and learning about our solar system? Wayne State astrophysicist Edward Cackett explained that the arrival of the rover on the surface of Mars is reason to celebrate in itself. “There’s a small launch window of about one month every 24 months,” explains Cackett, who says that this means that NASA scientists had to prepare everything during the pandemic summer of 2020. As far as what the hope is for what the rover will uncover, Cackett says there are “a whole of firsts” in the goals of this mission. Some of the goals of the Perseverance mission include sending out a helicopter (that was sent with the rover) to test whether it’s possible for an aircraft to fly in the Martian atmosphere, collecting rock samples and sealing them in test tubes tubes that a future mission will be able to pick up and bring back to earth and an experiment that will test whether it’s possible to produce oxygen from Mars’ atmosphere, which is mostly CO2. On the topic of how far we are from sending a person to Mars, Cackett points to the Artemis program, which is to get humans back on the moon in preparation for eventually getting humans to Mars. Cackett says that the Artemis program is planning to have humans on the moon for a continued amount of time to develop a site to test advancements that would allow humans to get to Mars. Cackett says this initiative is one of the very few things that was supported by former President Donald Trump and continues to receive support under the Biden administration.