With 150 tons of golf-course bunker sand, the Downtown Detroit Partnership has turned a traffic island at the southern end of the Campus Martius into an urban beach, part of a larger effort to revitalize they city's downtown.
"The beach, at the southern end of Campus Martius, is modeled after a similar program in France called Paris Plages, according to [Downtown Detroit Partnership] Senior Vice President Bob Gregory. It has been operational since earlier this month, though the official grand opening is Friday," reports Zlati Meyer.
“It’s all about activating public spaces, including parks, streets and sidewalks, so people have a great experience in the public space,” said Gregory. “The point of it is to revitalize downtown Detroit and the city of Detroit by getting people outside and enjoying their city and generating new business, restaurants and cafes. It’s both social for the people and economic development. ... It was done as a fun experiment to see if people like it. If people like it, we’ll bring it back.”
FULL STORY: Downtown Detroit Partnership throws a beach party at Campus Martius
A Day at the Beach in Downtown Detroit
Inspired by the Paris Plages temporary urban beach along the Seine, a temporary beach in a park in Downtown Detroit is inspiring the Motor City to rethink its public spaces.
Detroit Making its Streets 'Sticky'
The word "sticky" when applied to the urban design context has come to mean attractive and comfortable—the kind of place that makes people want to stay away and make return visits. Detroit is the latest city to experiment with the concept.
Backers Still Optimistic on Detroit Placemaking
After three years, an ambitious placemaking plan for downtown Detroit has delivered results, but not as quickly as its architects hoped.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont