For decades, the riverfront in Detroit was dotted with run-down industrial sites, parking lots, and overgrown shrubbery, rendering it inaccessible to the general public. In 2003, a group of local leaders from the Kresge Foundation, the City of Detroit, and General Motors, spearheaded by GM executive Matt Cullen, saw the potential for positive redevelopment. This case study tells the story of how they formed the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy (DRFC), a non-profit organization with plans to collaboratively turn five and a half miles of riverfront property into a pedestrian-friendly walkway that would attract private and public interest in the space. From 2003 to 2014, the Conservancy has transformed the waterfront into a manicured and beautifully landscaped, bicyclist- and pedestrian-friendly public area with parks, plazas, pavilions and open green spaces. This redevelopment has attracted further investment in the area with restaurants and other businesses moving to the riverfront, continuing the revitalization of the city’s riverfront space.
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher “Traditional governance, even when it is functioning effectively and fairly, often produces clear winners and clear losers, leaving smoldering resentments that flare up whenever there is a shift in the balance of power. Over the past two and…
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