The week of July 13, 2026, MichAuto Senior Director Drew Coleman traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with other city and regional leaders to participate in the Detroit to Pittsburgh City to City Learning Journey 2026, for a 2.5-day, in-depth experience on Pittsburgh’s technology and startup innovation, arts and culture, public space strategies, impactful public-private partnerships, neighborhood investments, and more.
Over 25 leaders attended from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, the Detroit Regional Chamber, Newlab, Oakland County Economic Development, the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership, the City of Detroit Mayor’s office, Invest Detroit, ThermoVerse, W Advisors & Co, Better Venture Lab, the City of Harper Woods, Union Heritage, Cinnaire, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, and others. The program’s goal was for each Detroit-based leader to return to the city with new practices, frameworks, and relationships to apply to their work in the region. This program was made possible by City Institute and planning partners The Heinz Endowments and Song United.
Detroit and Pittsburgh have similar industrial pasts and technology-driven futures. Through discussions with civic and community leaders, participants saw first-hand how a city can transform with purposeful, long-term strategic planning. The visit highlighted the value of partnership, the diverse stakeholders necessary to enact change, and how transformation is possible when a community comes together around shared goals. Pittsburgh’s transformation from steel city to a robotics and technology hub has been well researched and observed over the past few decades. Still, the ability to visit with the leaders who are doing the work and making the impact provided critical insight into how Detroit can continue carving its path forward.