There have always been forward-thinking Detroiters who saw broken systems and envisioned something better, but years after the city filed for bankruptcy (a time when blight and disinvestment threatened to take over entire neighborhoods), Anika Goss-Foster stepped up to the plate to be the latest visionary filling that role.

Her position as head of Detroit Future City places her among the most important leaders charting a new path forward for Detroit – one not defined by nostalgia or quick fixes, but based on equity, inclusion, and long-term viability.

Anika Goss-Foster was raised in Detroit and knows the city well.

She studied at the University of Michigan for her undergraduate and master’s degrees and has worked in community development all across the country, serving with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) before returning home to help national communities redevelop themselves through housing, small business investment, and workforce development.

That national perspective helped her bring big ideas back to Detroit right when the city needed them most.

Goss-Foster served as CEO of Detroit Future City in 2016, the think tank and action engine built out of Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy recovery plan.

Land use, economic equity, and sustainability are issues that affect how Detroit looks and works for the people who live there, and Detroit Future City wasn’t afraid to ask the tough questions:

How do you turn thousands of vacant lots into profitable assets?

How do you build an economy led by Black Detroiters, the same people who are so often left out of groundbreaking movements?

And of course:

Can development happen without moving in on the very communities that held Detroit together in its toughest years?

Goss-Foster is the woman demanding answers to those questions, and her programs have promoted everything from Black-owned businesses to fair homeownership to land use planning.

She is also a national spokesperson on racial equity in urban planning, one who prides herself in telling people all across the country the story of Detroit – not a tragedy, but a tale of resilience and reinvention.

Her perspective is clear:

True revitalization involves more than just billion-dollar downtown projects.

It’s about whether families in city neighborhoods will see better schools, safer streets, and fairer opportunities.

This insistence on equity has made Goss-Foster a respected but sometimes challenging figure in Detroit’s development conversation – yet she refuses to back down.

She is simply not the kind of leader who settles for shiny numbers or quick wins.

She’s all about doing the deeper work – rebuilding Detroit for all Detroiters, especially those too often left behind.

All in all, she is more than just a planner or CEO.

She’s Detroit’s conscience in development – a woman determined to make Detroit’s comeback a success for all.

Victoria Jackson (Editor In Chief)

Victoria Jackson is a lifelong student and sharp-eyed documentarian of all things Detroit, from its rich musical roots and cultural icons to its shifting neighborhoods, storied architecture, and underground legends. With her finger firmly on the pulse of both the city’s vibrant past and its rapidly unfolding future, she brings a deeply personal, historically grounded lens to every piece she writes.

Published on: August 27, 2025