As extreme weather becomes more common across the country, residents in and around Detroit have faced more frequent and severe flooding in recent years. Floodwaters have damaged homes and belongings, businesses and public infrastructure.

Two partners in The Kresge Foundation’s Climate Resilient and Equitable Water Systems (CREWS) initiative — Freshwater Future and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation — are working alongside community-based groups across Detroit and southeast Michigan to advance community-led flood solutions.

Freshwater Future is a Michigan-based organization that supports community-based groups working to protect and restore the water resources of the Great Lakes basin, including clean drinking water, healthy fish and wildlife habitats, and safe water for recreation.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation supports conservation efforts in all 50 states and U.S. territories. Through its Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund, the foundation awards grants for projects that reduce stormwater impacts, improve water quality, and make public green spaces and natural areas more accessible, benefiting communities, fish and wildlife across the region.

What resilience looks like in practice

Mapping flooding block by block

Freshwater Future provides tools and technical assistance that help community-based organizations in southeast Michigan address flooding and other water equity issues, and advocate for community-driven solutions and local and state policies.

Working with Earth Economics, Freshwater Future developed the Flood Focus app, an online tool that helps communities across the United States reduce flood risk, strengthen climate resilience and guide green infrastructure investments.

Through the app, partners such as the West Grand Boulevard Collaborative and Completely Community Coalition document where rainfall affects their neighborhoods and homes. Freshwater Future then maps the data so residents can pinpoint areas of recurring flooding and choose the right fix, whether that means repairing a storm drain or adding rain gardens, permeable pavement or runoff basins.

Residents and organizations throughout southeast Michigan use the app. It is now being piloted in New Orleans and was recently translated into Spanish to reach more residents.

Residents have documented more than 900 flooding incidents through Flood Focus. Freshwater Future compiled the data into a report identifying sites in need of attention and submitted it to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which then repaired storm drains that had caused flooding in several Detroit neighborhoods. For example:

• West Grand Boulevard Collaborative documented flooding near storm drains outside the Detroit Public Library’s Duffield Branch, prompting the department to repair the drains.
• Completely Community Coalition uses Flood Focus documentation to support road and drain repairs on Chalmers Street near Chandler Park.
• The Jefferson Chalmers Water Project and Manistique Community Tree House used the data to help secure repairs at documented sites.

Nature-based solutions

Since 2018, the Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund has awarded 48 grants totaling $12.1 million. Grantees have matched that funding with an additional $14.6 million, bringing the fund’s total on-the-ground impact to $26.7 million. Together, these projects are:

• Adding nearly 27 million gallons of stormwater storage capacity annually
• Restoring and enhancing more than 1,379 acres of wildlife habitat
• Developing or improving 108 public access points that make parks and natural areas easier for people to use and enjoy

Members of Kresge’s CREWS team recently visited Detroit Hives and the Detroit Zen Center to see two of these projects firsthand.

Detroit Hives

Detroit Hives is a nonprofit that transforms vacant and underused land into green spaces that support people and pollinators while promoting environmental stewardship, community pride and economic opportunity. With support from the Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund, Detroit Hives transformed eight vacant lots into community green spaces that are improving biodiversity, managing stormwater and bringing neighbors together.

Detroit Hives worked closely with community members to design and create botanical gardens, rain gardens, sensory gardens and accessible green spaces across Detroit — spaces that benefit bees and give residents access to natural areas close to home.

The project planted hundreds of native trees, shrubs and perennial flowers that support pollinators, expand urban habitat and strengthen Detroit’s tree canopy. Rain gardens and other nature-based features reduce stormwater runoff to help prevent flooding.

The impact reaches beyond the lots themselves. Residents who helped shape these spaces now care for them. Detroit Hives shows how small, community-led investments in green space can grow into shared pride, stewardship and a stronger foundation for a more resilient Detroit.

Detroit Zen Center

The Detroit Zen Center, an all-volunteer spiritual branch of Sudeoksa, a 1,300-year-old temple in South Korea, occupies historic buildings in Hamtramck that once sat empty after storm and sewage backups damaged them.

With support from the Southeast Michigan Resilience Fund, the center set out to show what is possible when green infrastructure is woven into the fabric of a dense urban neighborhood. Over two years, the site became a living model of resilience, with green roofs, rain gardens and public spaces that demonstrate how nature-based solutions can manage stormwater while creating welcoming places for the community.

The project now captures more than 146,000 gallons of stormwater annually. It has also engaged 3,041 people through tours, workshops, volunteer events, internships, urban ecology stays and community celebrations.

Partnerships made that reach possible. Collaborations with Friends of the Rouge, Xero Flor, LEAP Hamtramck, interns, volunteers and local residents extended the project far beyond what any one organization could accomplish alone. The project showed that community resilience is not just about installing infrastructure; it is about creating trusted examples, empowering local champions and building the partnerships needed to sustain environmental stewardship for years to come.

Residents leading the way

Our work with Freshwater Future and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation shows how supporting community-based organizations can advance practical, community-driven solutions to flooding. Their work helps create vibrant, resilient neighborhoods, reduce flood impacts and build lasting local capacity.

As a lifelong Detroiter, I find it inspiring to see residents leading the way on solutions that make our neighborhoods safer, greener and more resilient. Whether they’re documenting flooding block by block or turning vacant lots into thriving green spaces, these partners are proving that the people closest to the challenges are often the ones best positioned to solve them.