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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?
As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?
The Five Most-Changed American Cities
A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.
San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.
Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts
Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.
Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement
An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.
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.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions