Evan has lived in the Bagley neighborhood of Detroit for seven years and has been in the city since 2009. He describes Detroit as having “two sides of the coin”, a place where trust can take time to build, but once it does, it leads to strong, lasting relationships and a deep sense of community.

While his current neighborhood experiences mostly local delivery and bus traffic, Evan has seen firsthand how truck traffic and air pollution affect daily life, especially when he lived in Corktown near major roads and trucking routes. There, noise from trucks disrupted sleep, and poor air quality contributed to a serious asthma attack that required hospitalization. That experience changed his daily habits and ultimately influenced his decision to move to an area with better air quality, even though it meant losing some closeness to his community and daily connections.

What Real Change Looks Like to This Resident

For Evan, real change means addressing air quality at a systemic level. He believes solutions like electrifying truck fleets, increasing funding for clean diesel programs, and adding environmental buffers near freeways could significantly improve public health. He also emphasizes the need for stronger policies and urban planning that prioritize people over vehicles, so residents do not have to choose between their health and their community.