The District Detroit
With 6 major entertainment venues within just a few blocks of one another, there was no cohesive pedestrian network connecting them. Our team knew the power of creating walkable streets and open spaces, and we envisioned the role this transformation would play in the overall revitalization of the city.
Client
City of Detroit
Location
Detroit, Michigan
Markets/Services
Downtowns & Districts, Landscape Architecture, Lighting Design, Mixed-Use, Urban Environments
Size
50 blocks
Situated between bustling downtown Detroit and eclectic Midtown, The District Detroit bridges the gap of formerly vacant land with a dynamic entertainment destination. It isn’t a series of massive venues scattered across the 60 blocks, it is a series of new, mixed use neighborhoods, each anchored by the city’s best sports and entertainment venues, including the new Little Caesars Arena, Fox Theatre, Comerica Park, and Ford Field, all linked together with a rich network of walkable streets and open spaces.
Our team laid the framework for these streets and open spaces – festival streets that fill up with sports fans and concertgoers; parks to rest and reflect, beer gardens and plazas to entertain and tree-shaded streets with new cafes, bars and shops.
Aspiring for the vibrant future district, rich with experiences, our team laid the framework for the streets and open spaces – festival streets that fill with fans, district parks to rest and reflect, beer gardens and plazas to entertain, and tree-shaded streets populated by street cafes. Our district planning and site design efforts establish the infrastructure for range of events and programs and establish design guidelines to direct future street and open space development. By balancing the ephemeral with the enduring, these extraordinary new open spaces allow people from across the region to recreate, contemplate, and celebrate throughout the day and throughout the year.
Both durable and richly detailed, The District Detroit landscape reflects the toughness, vitality, and beauty of the city itself. Once inhospitable and daunting, the prospect of walking the streets is now inviting. Downtown and Midtown are linked, not simply with new spaces and corridors, but with people.