According Castañeda-López, District 6 has the largest population of the city’s seven districts. Data Driven Detroit, which gathers and analyzes demographic data pertaining to the city of Detroit, supports her claim. The organization’s most recent statistics show that the district is home to 106,407 people, of which 41,580 are Black, 41,328 are Latino, and 19,369 are White, with 4,130 representing other ethnicities. No other city district has more Latinos than District 6.
Not only is District 6 large in population, it is also one of the city’s largest districts in sheer land mass. District 6’s most easterly border is John R, between Warren Avenue to the north and the Detroit River to the south. Along the banks of the river, the district’s border runs southwestwardly to its furthest point, which is Bassett St. At this juncture, the district is peninsular-shaped and is surrounded on three sides by such cities as River Rouge, Ecorse, Lincoln Park, Melvindale, and Dearborn. Coming up on the west side of District 6, heading north, are such boundaries as I-75, Schaefer, Riverside and Wyoming.
The district’s most northwesterly point is where Oakman Boulevard meets Grand River. From this sector, the district heads southeasterly, with border streets including Grand River, Grand Boulevard, Milford, I-94, Warren, Rosa Parks, I-94 (again) and Cass Avenue. On Cass heading south to Warren Avenue the district line crosses Woodward Avenue going to the district’s easterly border of John R.
Geographically speaking, District 6 is home to most of the downtown area west of John R. Some of its well-known buildings and landmarks include Cobo Hall, Hart Plaza, Coleman A. Young Municipal, parts of Wayne State University, Campus Martius, the Federal Court Building, the Main Post Office, the Guardian Building, the Penobscot Building, the Ambassador Bridge and many others points of interest.
Additionally, there are numerous entertainment venues, including Joe Louis Arena, the Fox Theater, Masonic Temple, the Motor City Casino, the MGM Grand Casino, the Detroit Opera House, Orchestra Hall, half of Comerica Park, Wayne State University’s Bonstelle Theater, and the Garden Theater, which is African-American-owned. According to Castañeda-López, the vast majority of the new hockey arena and its surrounding development will be in District 6, as well as all of the planned new bridge to Canada.
“District 6 is undergoing many small and large developments and other initiatives,” she said. “The new arena and the new international crossing that will link Detroit to Canada are just two of the larger developments to help move the city forward. However, regardless of the size of the development, I want to make sure that surrounding communities and residents are always informed and included in all opportunities available.”
Educationally speaking, District 6 has more schools than other city districts, with at least 50 educational facilities. Some of the nationally noted schools include Cass Technical High School, Detroit School of Arts, Western International High School, Casa Richard Academy, Mark Twain Elementary-Middle School, Cesar Chavez Academy Intermediate and Academy of Americas.
Additionally, there are numerous well-known communities and neighborhoods throughout District 6, such as Corktown, Historic Woodbridge, Mexican Town, Midtown, Southwest Detroit, Springwells Village, Hubbard Farms, Hubbard-Richard, Chadsey-Condon, Boynton-Oakwoo, and Delray.
“There’s just a lot of diversity throughout District 6,” said Castañeda-López. “That’s what makes this district so attractive to people. It really has a rich history and also has many great communities.”
Like many of the other districts across the city, District 6 faces issues with blight and crime. Addressing such problems on a daily basis are Razo and Cancel.
“A typical day for us is receiving between 30 and 40 calls on a variety of issues, most of which are about blight,” said Razo. “We spend a lot of our time in the field following up on the calls we get. We address residents’ concerns when it comes to abandoned houses, trash, neglected lots and illegal dumping.”
Cancel adds that she and Razo love talking with community residents and business owners about numerous issues, such as how to develop and promote economic empowerment. While both are often asked to address issues in the district besides blight, Cancel says, “Our number one priority is helping to fight blight, but there’s a lot of spinoff that we are concerned with, such as crime. So we have a great rapport with the neighborhood police officers.”
Both Razo and Cancel said they enjoy working with Councilmember Castañeda-López and her team.
“We work extremely well with Councilmember Castañeda-López,” said Razo. “We meet with her and her team very often. We keep each other abreast as to what’s going on in the district. Our collective goal is to make the quality of life better for every resident and business in District 6.”
Part of the collective goal is meeting with many of the organizations in the district that are stakeholders in the development of District 6.
“There’s really a lot going on in District 6,” Cancel said. “What I love most about it is the diversity of its ethnicities, I also love that there are so many organizations working together to empower residents on many levels, such as SER-Metro, Southwest Solutions, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, Corktown Business Association, Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, and Midtown, Inc. There are also strong block clubs that are proactive.”
In an effort to better serve the residents of District 6, Castañeda-López is planning to create a mobile office that will move from location to location to more effectively address the concerns and needs of the people. She has also appointed a constituent manager who will assist her in the district. The councilwoman stated that the overall mission is to build and maintain stronger coalitions and share valuable resources with the people.
“There are many issues, but we will continue to work to empower residents and businesses in the district.” said Castañeda-López. “I’m totally committed to letting my district know who I am and that I’m committed to helping District 6 residents and communities move forward. I love this district and have lived here all of my life, so I know it’s a beautiful place to live, work and raise families.”