(WXYZ) — Google will work with the City of Detroit to develop a search tool to find affordable housing in the city, the company said this week.
According to Google, the City of Detroit was selected for Google.org's Fellowship Program. Through the program, 13 Google employees will spend six months helping the city develop an affordable housing locator search tool.
Those fellows will work with the city's Housing and Revitalization Department to help Detroiters find affordable housing, make it easier to rent and stay in the city.
The search tool is expected to be ready this year, and Detroiters will be able to use filters to find what they want, learn about the eligibility for affordable housing, learn how to apply and more.
“We are proud of the work we are doing to preserve and create thousands of affordable housing units across the city, but it doesn’t help if the people who need them don’t know how to find them,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a release. “I am deeply appreciative to our partners at Google.org Fellows to develop a tool that will help more Detroiters find the right housing options so they can have the opportunity to live affordably in the neighborhood of their choice.”
According to the city, there are tens of thousands of units of affordable housing in the city that have been regulated.
The search tool will be tested with residents, organizations and more to make sure it's user-friendly before it rolls out to the public.
“Google and Mayor Duggan’s administration share a commitment to creating opportunity for everyone,” Rob Biederman, head of midwest government affairs for Google, said. “By bringing together the best of Google’s technical expertise and resources with the City’s first-hand knowledge of the community’s needs, we hope to have a lasting positive impact for the residents of Detroit by helping make affordable housing even more accessible to people all across the city.”
