Detroit is frequently framed through stories of decline, but it is a powerful site of experimentation, creativity, and community-led reinvention. As land use, culture, and local economies are reimagined, the city offers important lessons about shaping people-first urban futures. 

This Future Fridays session brings together residents, designers, and civic leaders who are actively shaping Detroit’s evolution. Through personal narratives and conversation, participants will explore how memory, belonging, and identity shape Detroit’s transformation in ways that preserve culture while embracing change. 

About the Speakers

Saundra Little, FAIA, is a principal and Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Quinn Evans. In her over twenty years of experience in architecture, Saundra has overseen the design of several notable projects in the Detroit area, including the award-winning renovation of the Allied Media LOVE Building, Dr Ossian Sweet Memorial Plaza, Detroit Civil Rights Sites Citywide Historical Study, the Co-working Space at TechTown, the David Klein Gallery, and the current on the board designs of the three Detroit Public Schools High School projects. 

Saundra Littie is highly regarded for her planning and design work in the urban realm.   Saundra’s portfolio reflects the diversity of the neighborhoods she champions, with successful cultural, institutional, educational, and commercial projects of all sizes. She is a Co-founder of Noir Design Parti a project that documents the professional journeys and creative works of Detroit’s black architects. She co-hosts the Hidden in Plain Site podcast, interviewing current practicing black architects in Michigan. 

Saundra Little is currently serving as the 2025-2026 President-Elect of NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects). She moderates the Quinn Evans panel series Common Ground, which explores diversity, equity, and inclusion in the design community. 

Anika Goss is the Chief Executive Officer of Detroit Future City (DFC), a nonprofit think tank and urban innovation center focused on land use and sustainability, community and economic development, and economic equity in Detroit. 

Anika leads a team of experts to implement the DFC Strategic Framework, a comprehensive 50-year guide to decision-making and investment in Detroit. Prior to DFC, Anika held nearly 25 years of leadership in national and local roles in community development and non-profit management. 

Anika’s leadership has been recognized in Detroit and nationally, including Crain’s Detroit Business, Michigan Chronicle, and Corps! Magazine. She serves on the board of national and local organizations including The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Detroit Branch, The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis, and served on Governor Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council, a state commission focusing on population growth. She also serves on the Detroit Advisory Board for Prudential Blueprints to Black Wealth and Charles Schwab National Wealth Advisory Board. Anika has also had numerous speaking engagements, including her recent TED Talk “Detroit’s climate crisis—and how to build a resilient future everywhere.” 

Alexa Bush is the Planning Director for the City of Detroit, where she leads citywide planning efforts focused on equitable development, neighborhood revitalization, and long-term urban strategy. She brings more than a decade of experience across public sector and philanthropy, including six years with Detroit’s Planning and Development Department, where she helped rebuild the department following the city’s bankruptcy and led neighborhood planning initiatives across multiple Strategic Neighborhood Fund areas. 

Bush most recently served as a program officer at the Kresge Foundation, advancing investments in public space, climate resilience, and equitable economic development across Detroit neighborhoods. Her work consistently focuses on aligning community engagement, policy, and design to create inclusive, resilient, and opportunity-rich cities. 

About Future Fridays 

Future Fridays is the National Building Museum’s signature online series as part of the Future Cities initiative, hosted by James Darius Ball, director of Future Cities. Each one-hour session highlights the people, stories, and decisions that shape cities and everyday life in communities across the country. 

In its second year, the series emphasizes personal narratives and community perspectives, showing how residents, planners, designers, and civic leaders influence neighborhoods, public spaces, and city life. Participants can share their own perspectives, ask questions, and gain insight into how local choices reflect broader trends shaping American cities. 

Future Cities programming extends beyond Future Fridays, with a four-year slate of exhibitions, events, lectures, publications, digital activations, and community-based engagements designed to reach audiences from all walks of life and encourage participation in shaping the places where they live, work, and play.