At TED This Week, Two Speakers Got To The Root Of Things

At the TED Conference in Vancouver this week two TED Fellows talked about putting ideas to work to invigorate marginalized communities from within, while harnessing the collective power, creativity, and good will of residents who want to live in thriving, healthy and safe neighborhoods.

Devita Davison, executive director of FoodLab Detroit, offered a different means of taking action: "transformation and hope: through food." She began by reminding the audience of Detroit's apex in the 1950s, when the city's name itself represented the strength of America's manufacturing capabilities and ingenuity. "Now, today, just a half a century later, Detroit is the poster child for urban decay."

Between a shrinking population and decades of disinvestment, Davison pointed to the persistent problem of scarcity for its mostly African-American population. "There is a scarcity in Detroit. There is a scarcity of retail. More specifically: fresh food retail. Resulting in a