Detroit Riverfront Redevelopment

[ebardhi]

Project
The redesigning of the East Detroit Riverfront

Location
Detroit, Michigan. East Detroit Riverfront

Type of Project
Urban Design

[ebardhi]

The way we did the site analysis for this project was in groups, so I do not have everything that was researched. I'll try to post as much as I can.
This is an analysis of the main roads that are in the nearby areas of the site. The convergence point, is the downtown area or the old center of the city. The city was first started on a radial pattern. At one point in the development, this was completely stopped, and then continues in a perfect grid, like elsewhere in the United States.
I think it would be very important to use the main streets to better link the area in the project to other parts of Detroit.

[ebardhi]

This is an analysis of the freeways that go through the city, and at the same time "divide" the fabric of the city. However, using these should be very important to the development of the project site.

[ebardhi]

I think a strong connection to the existing places of attraction will also help for the thriving of the project site. We still haven't decided what shall be in the site itself. It is mostly optional. I am thinking mostly mixed use including residential, commercial, public buildings, parks. We were just done with the analysis phase, so none of that is well thought out yet. However, there probably be a considerate amount of land used for the public. Detroit is not really public friendly, and it's probably one of the worst cases of "car life". Of course it doesn't compare to Las Vegas, but it is that way for completely different reasons. So as I mentioned before, a strong connection to other main places in the city will be crucial.

[ebardhi]

Parks are also important. There are some already in the site, however, when visiting there, almost everything is barren. It is difficult, because if you build more, it could just add to the barren parkland, and if you don't, you're just limiting the use of public space, if there actually is a growth. I think the best way to improve this is by connecting the site to other parks in the nearby area. This way there is a smaller reason for people to actually drive from one park to another, when they could just park in one place, and then walk through them.
This is what I and some of the classmates have found bad about Detroit. Without a car there, you are lost. The transit system is virtually nonexistant, and one can feel the strong, invisible, racial barrier. One has to drive to one place, park there, visit that place. Then they'll have to drive to another part of the city and visit that place. It is not like other cities, e.g. Chicago or NY, where that is not necessary. You could take Tram's or Subways, to reach other areas of the city.

[ebardhi]

When I put all the overlays together, i get a kind of matrix. I think to effectively bring people in the site, there needs to be a mix of all those things that can help. Of course a lot of these things, are too big for this project to include, especially things like new public transportation, etc. however, i think it should make good use of what's there.

[ebardhi]

The project, is actually a group project, so once I start posting ideas (should be soon), it'll be cumulative of me and my partner's.
The site includes a lot of buildings who are in fair-to-bad shape. Some are old factories which were deserted. Some buildings are still in use, even though in bad shape.
Most commercial buildings are to the north of the site boundary (Jefferson Road).
To the east, it's mostly residential, and that is primarily in Apartments.
The west is the Renaissance Center (presently the GM Building). There are a lot of parkinglots, estimated at 8500 parking spots. A lot of it was unused, although there was a good amount used, especially to the far east and west corners.
The middle part of the site was not kept up too well.
There are only three pre-planned "parks" in the site.
This includes:
-The Ren Center Promenade- a short walk on the riverfront, with a strip of greenery. Currently under construction. However it dead ends, and demands you returning back to the entrance.( probably needs to be continued throughout site)
-Tri-Centenial Park (st. aubin)- A small park
-Chene park- another small park with a tensile structure in it used for public gatherings of sorts.

[ebardhi]

This part of the riverfront has been mostly used for Factories in the past. There are remnants of an old railway about halfway in the site, which then runs directly north. This part is below, street level, and full of overgrown vegetation.
A lot of other parts in this site are overgrown of vegetation because of lack of care. A lot of the abandoned buildings are used as houses by the homeless. When going in the factories, it was interesting actually seeing people laying down on the ground in the other corner.
I think the United States has given a tremendous importance to riverfront in the past 30 years or so. This can be seen through the major river cities. There have been attempts to clean up waste places on riverfront, where many industrial complexes were.
Some of the places in the project site can also be classified as brownfields.

[ebardhi]

This picture shows the irony of the situation. There are some buildings build to help speed up the development process of Detroit. However, when these certain buildings don't help, e.g. Renaissance building, than the destruction of the site sorrounding it is magnified.

[ebardhi]

This is it for today.
I'll post more when there is a concept, rather than disconnected ideas that are in my head right now.
Any ideas, or comments/critics about the analysis are welcomed.