AIA Detroit’s Detroit by Design Summer Symposium kicked into full gear with its first component - Transportation - on April 13th at the Detroit Public Library. Using a combination of local and national panelists, the symposium exhibited international design proposals followed by a series of in-depth discussions. Moderated by the City of Detroit’s Planning and Development Department Deputy Director Marja Winters, the symposium allowed planners and designers the unique opportunity to showcase the role of urban planning in conjunction with a massive and contemporary city-wide planning effort. Presentations by select members helped promote various design strategies to the community, while highlighting ongoing planning initiatives for both the city and surrounding metro area. In doing so, the UPC explored the line between a practical and theoretical design world, suggesting possibilities for the next iteration of Detroit.
As the first of a three-part summer long deliberation, the Transportation Symposium sought to expand off ongoing endeavors within the city. A variety of transit options were discussed for the growing number of frustrated residents, many of whom are becoming more concerned with longer commutes and soaring gas prices. The dialogue centered on the importance of mass transit to regional cohesion, the logistics of successful implementation and Detroit's role in creating a more 'personal connection' for its citizens. In a region dominated by an expensive, rapidly aging automotive infrastructure, comparisons were made on how the diversity of mobility can equate to lower costs and regional accomplishments. Portland’s initial struggle to create two light rail lines from downtown during the mid-1980s has now led to several communities battling for the next available line. However, it was revealed that considerable time, many major connection points, and supportive density for such a system were needed for the contemporary project to be considered “successful”. Comparisons between existing urban centers and the Detroit Metro Airport were discussed in a similar vein as was the ease of traveling across the city by bicycle. These, along with other issues, highlighted the range of scales required by citizens to navigate their urban terrain.
Personally, I was blown away by the creativeness and down to earth nature of the discussion. Many of these planners and designers have spent decades involved with their local communities, overcoming numerous logistical concerns necessary for massive regional connections. They did so by offering practical, yet imaginative solutions. Connection of regional airports to big box retail centers, suggesting city council members use bus services to increase reliability, and other design facets set curious tones for participant exploration. Coinciding with the discussions were design proposals on display in the main gallery featuring an incredible array of graphics and community mechanics. While local and national firms were well represented, student projects took the lead in showcasing the potential of regional planning opportunities. SOM, Perkins and Will, Hamilton Anderson, and McIntosh Poris Associates, as well as several graduate architecture and planning students from around the country submitted design ideas, ranging from simple building typologies to massive multi-nodal transportation hubs. Some displayed great sensitivity to local concerns, whereas others proposed massive re-imagining of abandoned facilities repurposed for new uses. Several of the larger architecture firms displayed renderings of past work in other top-tier cities, presenting possible directions Detroit could explore. A unique approach would have been to show how such international projects could have looked in a specific location within the city, or how new transit hubs could affect the future urban pattern. Most, however, focused on to exotic locations or select American Megalopolis’, leaving the next symposium to potentially answer such intriguing questions. Overall though, the proposals demonstrated creative approaches to existing conditions within the city.
In the first decade of the new millennium, Detroit has become a hot bed of ideas, creativity and experimentation. As the region attempts to contend with population mobility, increased technology, and shifts in living choices, it seeks both vision and leadership in an ongoing cycle of change. As such, the AIA Detroit: Urban Priorities Committee, in collaboration with AIA National and the ‘Detroit Works Project’, has launched an amazing first submission. I for one cannot wait to be part of the further symposiums in May and June!
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