Detroit is a captivating study in urban evolution. Once one of America’s richest cities, it is now among its poorest. This summer, under the guidance of Professor Michael Thom, twenty USC Price students had the opportunity to help reverse the decline, addressing the challenges of transit, land use, education, and nonprofit innovation.  Among them, masters students Michael Johnston and Kurt Taillon along with undergraduates Derek Hung, Rory O’Sullivan, and John Tomlinson were tasked with transforming the city’s bus system, known as the Detroit Department of Transportation, or DDOT.  When asked what interested him most about transportation, student Derek Hung remarked, “Transportation is a tool in modern commerce, a catalyst for urban growth, and a point of consideration when people and businesses decide where to locate.”

After a week on-site, the students returned to Los Angeles to analyze the data they gathered and prepare a report of their findings and recommendations for Detroit Future City, a nonprofit tasked with helping transform Detroit into a sustainable, livable community.  “Being able to study transportation provided insight into how economies develop, how cities evolve into megalopolises, and where communities and business hubs form.”  Hung reflected.  “We discovered that the Detroit Department of Transportation wastes thousands of dollars a day by operating buses in vacant neighborhoods. Reducing or removing service to these routes would free up funds for the Department to improve its service to the areas that need it the most.” 

In the short term, Hung would like to work in the public sector as a city planner. In the long term, he hopes to start his own firm focusing on GIS, planning, and design work for cities.