Creating Places: A Journey to Detroit Part II

Having been back a week following my trip to Detroit, following are some positive and negative characteristics of the built environment of one of this country's five most important, arguably, old-school cities:

The Good

1. Stellar vintage architecture of all types (residential, commercial, civic and industrial).

2. Three large, well-defined and fairly vibrant big-city districts: Downtown, Midtown and New Center.

3. An outstanding collection of pre-World War-II-built skyscrapers (the Guardian Building is likely my favorite, with the lobby nothing short of breathtaking).

4. A nice collection of civic spaces (Campus Martius Park, Grand Circus Park, the Market Sheds in Eastern Market, Detroit Riverwalk and Lafayette Park/Dequindre Cut Greenway.

5. A distinctive downtown street layout, which allows for interesting vistas for walkers.

The Bad

1. An almost disturbingly modest number of striking 21st century buildings (a few exceptions include the Downtown YMCA, the Compuware Building and the Greektown Hotel).

2. A good bit of "dead space" (surface parking, empty residential lots, abandoned buildings, etc.), which limits pedestrian vibrancy.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I rank Detroit's manmade fabric a 7.5. Once the city is infilled with cutting-edge contemporary buildings — and assuming the bulk of the great traditional stuff is maintained — the ranking could shoot to a 9. This transformation will require at least 20 years and I might be dead, but perhaps my two nephews, 10 and 7 respectively, will be able to enjoy, along with the then-residents of what will remain a proud city.

Next up...how the wonderful people of Detroit make the Motor City a special place.