Between September and December 2024, the Lightstar team, in partnership with local organizations in Detroit, hosted a series of neighborhood meetings to collaboratively shape the City’s Phase I Solar Neighborhoods program. These community gatherings provided a space for neighbors from Gratiot-Findlay and State Fair to share their visions, preferences, and ideas for the solar arrays soon to be integrated into their neighborhoods. Together, we explored landscaping and fencing options, presenting various designs for their thoughtful input. Residents cast votes for their favorite designs, which helped us finalize a landscaping plan that reflects their collective voice.

Credit: City of Detroit Flickr

Group Executive for Neighborhoods Ray Solomon (left) and Mayor Mike Duggan (right) listen as Tepfirah Rushdan, director of Detroit's Office of Sustainability (center) speaks Monday during the city's "solar neighborhoods" announcement.

Credit: City of Detroit Flickr

Group Executive for Neighborhoods Ray Solomon (left) and Mayor Mike Duggan (right) listen as Tepfirah Rushdan, director of Detroit's Office of Sustainability (center) speaks Monday during the city's "solar neighborhoods" announcement.

Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday announced the first three neighborhoods chosen to take part in a project to convert blighted lots into solar farms to help power municipal buildings.