Since the mid-1970s, Detroit’s riverfront has been transforming from a depressed industrial area into a bustling district for families and businesses.
John Gallagher and Zlati Meyer report on the success of RiverWalk, after forty years in the works:
"Planners say the riverfront eventually will offer economic as well as recreational opportunities. As the housing market recovers, city officials and developers look forward to the construction of hundreds or even thousands of upscale condos and rental apartments and retail stores, investments that could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars."
The job is clearly not complete: Gallagher and Meyer found gaps on the RiverWalk that still need to be filled, include stalled plans for condos, apartments, and retail spaces and parks that need to be rebuilt.
Read the full story: After 40 years, Detroit's riverfront goes from factories and shipping to housing, retail, recreation
New Riverfront Promenade Opens in Detroit
The East Riverfront now provides 3.5 miles of contiguous parks and trails on the formerly industrial waterfront.
Massive Private Gift to Fund Parks and Trails in Detroit, Buffalo
The gift is especially notable for its contributions toward efforts to redevelop Detroit's West Riverfront.
The Next Step in the Evolution of Detroit's Waterfront
A groundbreaking ceremony for Atwater Beach on Detroit's east waterfront is just one of many ongoing construction projects that will add open space and recreation facilities to formerly industrial areas.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Study reveals best places in the U.S. for cycling, walking
New research from Streetlight Data examines bicycle and pedestrian miles per capita in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population.
DSA members accuse Mamdani of 'abandoning values' over housing redevelopment
New York City's mayor plans to replace about 2,000 units of public housing with private, mixed-income housing.
All sides of BRT debate unhappy with CDOT’s most recent move
The Colorado Department of Transportation is no longer considering center-running bus lanes for Colorado Boulevard.
Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries
Putting solar panels above farmland is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello