Declare Detroit is a movement of citizens who support the Detroit Declaration, a manifesto offering twelve principles for a prosperous city and region. The document serves as a framework to advocate for policy reform and political action to make Detroit more vibrant, sustainable and equitable for all.

Drafted by a group of twenty individuals in January 2010 and now led by a steering team of twenty more, the Declaration has a fan base of over 14,000 people (and growing). A framed poster of the Declaration now hangs in the Mayor's Office at Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, as well as in neighborhood businesses throughout the city.

Principles of the Detroit Declaration:

1) Be welcoming and embrace our diversity. Move beyond mere tolerance of our differences to a true commitment to openness, understanding and cooperation, and the inclusion of multiple perspectives both in our neighborhoods and at the highest decision-making realms.

2) Preserve our authenticity. Celebrate and elevate that which makes Detroit unique—local art, music, food, design, architecture, culture—to build a stronger local economy.

3) Cultivate creativity. Build an infrastructure to foster and promote emerging talent in one of Detroit’s greatest strengths, the arts: music, film, visual arts, design, and other creative industries.

4) Diversify our economy. Create a culture of opportunity and risk-taking, especially by investing in entrepreneurship and small, micro-business.

5) Promote sustainability. Embrace the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental benefit by retooling our infrastructure with green technology, adapting vacant buildings and open spaces for new uses, and creating healthy, family-supporting jobs.

6) Enhance quality of place. Create a comprehensive vision for transit-linked, high quality, walkable urban centers in Detroit.

7) Demand transportation alternatives. Invest in an integrated regional transportation system that links communities and provides citizens with access to the jobs, health care and education they need.

8) Prioritize education, pre-K through 12 and beyond. Create a culture that values the wide, equitable educational attainment necessary to produce both economic opportunity and stronger citizens.

9) Elevate our universities and research institutions. Create world-class education, new technology, and medical centers to attract and retain students and faculty from around the world.

10) Enhance the value of city living. Demand public safety and services to improve the quality of life for residents.

11) Demand government accountability. Reward civic engagement with responsive, transparent and ethical governmental decision-making.

12) Think regionally and leverage our geography. Maximize our position as an international border city and a Midwestern hub between Chicago and Toronto. Forge meaningful partnerships between Detroit and its suburbs to compete globally in the 21st century.

For the full text, click here.

Photo by Marvin Shaouni Photography.