The Detroit Metro Area Communities Study (DMACS) is a University of Michigan initiative designed to regularly survey a broad, representative group of Detroit residents about their communities, including their expectations, perceptions, priorities, and aspirations.
Since 2016, the University of Michigan’s Detroit Metro Area Communities Study has used a city-wide survey to help bridge the gap between Detroit officials and residents whose voices may not always be heard in public discussions. Starting in March 2020, DMACS developed and launched a series of rapid-response surveys to capture the impacts of COVID on Detroiters.
Completed by a representative sample of more than 2,200 Detroiters, the ongoing DMACS survey provides valuable insights into the perceptions and attitudes of people who live and work in Detroit.
DMACS is led by Professor Elisabeth Gerber, Professor Jeffrey Morenoff, and Professor Mara Ostfeld.
Academic Articles:
Cross, Fernanda, Lydia Wileden, Ayse Buyuktur, Jodyn Platt, Jeffrey Morenoff, Maria Militzer, Ana Patricia Esqueda, Movva Pranati, Ziyu Zhao, Kashmira Sawant, Felix Valbuena, Sarah Bailey, Barbara Israel, Erica Marsh, Susan J. Woolford. (2023). “MICEAL Black and Latinx Perspectives on COVID-19 Vaccination: A Mixed-methods examination.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. doi: 10.1007/s40615-023-01815-y
Wileden, Lydia, Denise Anthony, Celeste Campos-Castillo, and Jeffrey Morenoff. (2023). “Resident Willingness to Participate in Digital Contact Tracing in a COVID-19 Hotspot: Findings From a Detroit Panel Study.” JMIR Public Health and Surveillance. doi:10.2196/39002.
Wagner, Abram L., Lydia Wileden, Trina R. Shanks, Susan D. Goold, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, and Sherri N. Sheinfeld Gorin. (2022). "Mediators of Racial Differences in COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Uptake: A Cohort Study in Detroit, MI" Vaccines 10(1):36. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10010036.
Reports:
Employment Dynamics in Detroit and the Impact of Labor Force Rebounders
Detroiters’ Policy Priorities: What Matters to Detroiters Leading up to the November 2022 Elections
Employment Dynamics in Detroit - November 2022
The Economic Well-Being of Detroit Residents Two Years Into the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Over Time Among DMACS Panel Respondents
The Link Between Parents' and Children's Vaccination in Detroit
Employment Dynamics in Detroit During the COVID-19 Pandemic - February 2022
Detroiters' Priorities for American Rescue Plan Funds
Using American Rescue Plan Funds to Meet Detroiters’ Home Repair Needs
Detroiters' Views on Crime and Policing - 2021
Unemployment Dynamics in Detroit During the COVID-19 Pandemic - 2021 (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Detroiters' Support for COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Vaccination and Trust in Information on COVID-19 in Detroit (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Examining and Addressing COVID-19 Racial Disparities in Detroit (Brookings Institution Report)
Republished in Urban Health: A Practical Application for Clinical Based Learning. (2022) Edited by Cynthia McNeill, Umeika Stephens, and Tara Walker. Open Textbooks.
Detroit’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund: A Baseline Report of Resident Perceptions
Employment Dynamics in Detroit During the COVID-19 Pandemic (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Reach and Impact of Federal Stimulus Checks in Detroit (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Behavior Change During COVID-19 (COVID Rapid Response Surveys)
Health and Health Insurance in Detroit, Summer 2018
Op-Eds:
Opinion: Should the City of Detroit mandate vaccines for employees? (Bridge Detroit, August 2021)
Opinion: Detroit needs another stimulus check. (Bridge Detroit, July 2020)
Opinion: Detroit survey shows coronavirus crisis threatens to widen inequality (Bridge Magazine, April 2020)
Presentations:
Detroit Metro Area Communities Study: Measuring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Detroit (Blalock Lecture Series, ICPSR Summer Program, University of Michigan. July 2020)
Motor City at a Standstill: Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 on Detroit (ISR Insights Speaker Series, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. June 2020)
Media Coverage:
New survey: Detroit's jobless rate is nearly 4x what government reports (Detroit Free Press, June 2023)
Detroit home repair hotline gets more than 244K calls (Bridge Detroit, June 2022)
Housing costs take bulk of paycheck for thousands of Detroiters, survey shows (Detroit Free Press, May 2022)
UM study: Detroit parents less likely to vaccinate themselves, their kids (Detroit News, March 2022)
Survey: 1 in 4 unemployed Detroit parents left work in past year: What's keeping them home (Detroit Free Press, February 2022)
U-M survey: More Detroiters than previously live in substandard housing (Michigan Radio, October 2021)
91,000 Detroiters Lack Access to Running or Hot Water, Struggle with Broken Heating, UM Survey Says (WDET, October 2021)
More Detroiters than Previously Thought Live in Substandard Housing (WKAR, October 2021)
Nearly 38K Detroit households living in ‘inadequate’ housing this past year, study finds (WXYZ, October 2021)
Survey: Detroit parents are half as likely to COVID-19 Vaccine (MLive, October 2021)
More than 90,000 Detroit residents live in inadequate housing, UM report estimates (Detroit News, October 2021)
Detroit’s home repair crisis is even bigger than experts thought (Bridge Detroit, October 2021)
U-M survey: Detroit’s unemployment rate has held steady at 25% since last fall (Detroit Free Press, September 2021)
Government distrust driving younger Detroiters’ COVID vaccine hesitancy, University of Michigan survey says (MLive, July 2021)
38% of Detroit residents ‘very likely’ to get COVID-19 vaccine, University of Michigan survey finds (MLive, April 2021)
Survey: Interest from Detroit residents in getting COVID-19 vaccine ticks up (The Detroit News, March 2021)
Black, Hispanic Detroiters hesitant to take coronavirus vaccine (Bridge Detroit, December 2020)
Pandemic disproportionately affects the most vulnerable, and its impact is not over (Detroit Free Press, September 2020)
UM study: Detroit unemployment ‘alarmingly high’; residents say coronavirus restrictions lifting too soon (Crain’s Detroit, July 2020)
Nearly half of Detroiters have lost their job during the coronavirus pandemic (Detroit Free Press, May 2020)
Survey: Pandemic caused job losses for 4 of 10 Detroiters (Associated Press, May 2020. Republished in The San Francisco Chronicle, US News, and other outlets)
In Detroit, grief runs deep as city grapples with COVID-19 (AP News, April 2020. Republished in The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, ABC News, and other outlets)
Nearly 50 percent of Detroit residents say they’ll be broke within 3 months under Michigan coronavirus lockdown (Newsweek, April 2020)
COVID-19 survey: 1 in 5 Detroiters expect to run out of money in 3 months (The Detroit News, April 2020)