Wayne Forward

Wayne County Sustainability & Innovation invites you to participate in the upcoming session of our Wayne Forward Technical Assistance Program:

Wednesday, September 23 | 9:30am–11:00am

Downriver Council for the Arts

81 Chestnut St, Wyandotte, MI 48192

This is an in-person meeting with a virtual option via Teams.

At this session, we’ll share the Wayne Forward Year 1 Report highlighting the state of sustainability in Wayne County communities. We'll also host an exploratory discussion on opportunities for greater countywide planning and coordination.

We’ll connect communities with several free resources including Detroit 2030 District’s Direct Pay Ambassador Program, Wayne County MORE to save money on utility bills, and membership to the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), and the Michigan Municipal Association for Utility Issues.

Staff from planning, sustainability, economic development, public works, public health, administration, or related departments are encouraged to attend.

Wayne Forward met in Livonia's Department of Public Works on July 15, 2026. Wayne County Sustainability & Innovation hosted a networking session and summer celebration marking one year since the program inception.

Agenda: Summer Social and Networking

Date: Wednesday, July 15th

Please complete a very short 2-minute feedback survey. Help us make Wayne Forward a better resource for your communities.

Resources:

• Wayne Forward Presentation

Wayne Forward met at the Highland Park Justice Center on May 13, 2026. Wayne County Sustainability & Innovation hosted Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services and JustAir for a session on monitoring and preparing for summer heat, wildfire smoke, and poor air quality events. The session covered public health impacts, the Air Quality Index, JustAir’s real-time air quality dashboard, and practical steps local governments can take to prepare for heat and smoke events.

Agenda: Monitoring and Preparing for Summer Heat and Smoke

Date: Wednesday, May 13th

Please complete a very short 2-minute feedback survey. Help us make Wayne Forward a better resource for your communities.

Resources:

• Wayne Forward Presentation
• HHVS Presentation
• Just Air Presentation
• Just Air Workshop Documents
• Wayne Forward Checklist

Wayne Forward met at Westland City Hall (36300 Warren Rd) on March 18, 2026. Wayne County Sustainability & Innovation hosted Dr. Sarah Mills from the University of Michigan. The session covered an introduction to data centers: what they are, what they do, and key environmental, fiscal, policy & planning considerations.

Agenda: What Data Centers Mean for Local Governments

Date: Wednesday, March 18th

Location: Westland City Hall, 36300 Warren Rd, Westland, MI 48185

Please complete a very short 2-minute feedback survey. Help us make Wayne Forward a better resource for your communities.

Resources:

• Sarah's presentation
• University of Michigan's Guidebook: "What Michigan Local Government's Need to Know about Data Centers"
• Wayne County's Data Center F.A.Q

Our first Wayne Forward engagement session of 2026 was hosted in the City of Dearborn. We featured Danielle Beard from the Michigan Municipal League who shared more about the Michigan Green Communities (MGC) program. Additionally, we shared a community level map of electric vehicle infrastructure.

Agenda

Date: Wednesday, January 21st

Location: Henry Ford Centennial Library, 16301 Michigan Ave, Dearborn, MI 48126

8:30am – Coffee & Networking

9:00am– Welcome to Dearborn - County Commission District 13

9:05am – Introductions & Previous Meeting Recap

9:15am – Community-level Data

9:25am – Featured Program: Michigan Green Communities

         Presentation & Discussion

10:10am – Resources & Opportunities Updates

10:20am – Announcements & Housekeeping

10:30am – Adjourn

Presentation Slides

Learn more about the Michigan Green Communities Challenge here.

An Electric Vehicle Charging station map of your community is available here.

Please complete a very short 2-minute feedback survey. Help us make Wayne Forward a better resource for your communities.

This Wayne Forward engagement session hosted in the City of Plymouth centered around energy and flooding. The meeting featured presentations on available resources from Floodwise and Detroit 2030 District, followed by interactive discussions on Wayne County communities' priorities and needs when addressing flooding and energy infrastructure in their municipalities.

Presentation Slides

Agenda

This Wayne Forward engagement session hosted in the City of Ecorse centered around the State of Michigan's MI Healthy Climate Plan (MIHCP). The meeting featured a presentation from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy on the MIHCP, followed by interactive break-out-group-style discussions on how Wayne communities can align with the state’s climate goals through local planning, infrastructure investments, and community-focused initiatives. The discussions centered around exploring local implementation opportunities and resources across Wayne County.

Presentation Slides

Agenda

The inaugural Wayne Forward meeting was hosted at River Rouge’s City Hall on July 23rd, 2025, to engage municipalities across Wayne County in discussion around their sustainability needs and priorities. This event consisted of a share-out and review of findings on community priorities. Data from the Focus Groups held in May 2025, as well as the results of the Wayne County Sustainability Priorities Survey were presented and discussed. The County cross-checked data with participants and obtained further input to design effective technical assistance initiatives. Relevant available resources were also shared and sent out. 15 communities were represented between the 20 attendees present.

Presentation Slides

Agenda