I’ve been working with the Detroit Revitalization Fellows the past few weeks, helping them to launch a project blog called 8 Weeks Under 8 Mile: Buying local in Detroit.

8 Weeks Under 8 Mile is an experiment to understand what happens when you redirect your spending exclusively toward Detroit businesses.

8W/8M aims to enhance personal, regional, and national awareness of the benefits and opportunities for buying local while promoting the great retail that presently exists in Detroit. This concentrated effort by the 8 Milers (challenge participants) aims to intensify personal interaction with local businesses and document Detroit retail opportunities.

Michael Forsyth and Erin Kelly are the two Fellows who are doing most of the heavy lifting on the project.