CItY SYStEmS NEIGHBORHOODS

wo years ago we launched an ambitious effort to reimagine the future of one of the worlds most storied and important cities. At that time, we cautioned that success doesnt happen by chance, but cities from around the world have learned that they must plan ahead for positive change. It was then that the DEtROIt WORkS PROJECt LONG tERm PLaNNING a blueprint for a future Detroit that works for all was born. Many of you have been there from the beginning, inserting your passion, ideas and expertise along the way. Today we are once again asking for your input. Below are some draft strategies for one of the main elements of the plan, City Systems. These arent the entirety of the strategies for City Systems, but the latest for which we need your feedback. After we digest this feedback, we will complete the in-depth Long Term Strategic Framework plan in the fall. We look forward to the conversation, and a brighter future for Detroit.

Detroit is experiencing growth in some economic clusters that are bringing more jobs and investment to the city. At the same time, the city is still losing population and may continue to do so for the next 20 years. Today, 713,000 Detroiters are paying for an infrastructure system that was designed to serve and be paid for by 2,000,000 residents, nearly three times the size of our current population. This has resulted in Detroiters paying more taxes for diminishing services. Despite the sparks of resurgence currently occurring, this challenge of delivering adequate services amidst diminished use and revenue will continue to negatively impact quality of life for Detroiters unless we take action. As our city seeks to confront its challenges head on, we must look at how to realign and tailor services to fit our projected population and economic growth. Doing so will allow our City to provide services in a more efficient and cost-effective manner, and ultimately, provide a better quality of service to Detroiters. There are three main strategies that will help us to achieve this goal: realigning the capacity of city systems, using landscapes to support infrastructure systems on our vacant land and excess road capacity, and changing public transit systems to get people to more destinations faster. These strategies were born from many discussions with the community, service agencies, and other stakeholders. We continue to have conversations with service agencies to see if these draft strategies are feasible and desirable, so they should not be viewed as final recommendations. It is also important that we get input from the community about how well you think these draft strategies will start to address some of the city service challenges. Please take the time to read whats here and fill out the feedback form so we can use your input when developing the final strategies.

infrastructure

must align with our current population & future growth

Our city systems have an increasingly antiquated infrastructure designed to serve nearly three times our current population. There is a large gap between the existing infrastructure, the costs it takes to maintain it roads, the water system, street lights, etc. and what we actually need to serve our population if we plan well. If we dont adjust, the already high costs residents pay for services will continue to rise, even when demand is decreasing. On the other hand, accurately matching infrastructure investments to future population projections will begin to greatly diminish that burden. We must make investments in maintenance and improvements of city systems in a more strategic and coordinated fashion. Every year, our city makes investments to maintain its infrastructure of roads, pipes and wires. These investments are often very expensive and usually designed to maintain a segment of infrastructure for 20 to 50 years. We need to more effectively use these infrastructure resources to upgrade areas with expected future growth, maintain areas that are expected to stabilize and act as anchors for nearby areas, and to reduce the level of infrastructure for areas that are expected to have less population in the future.
10 YEAR HORIZON

However, strategically investing in infrastructure systems could mean different levels of other services in the wider neighborhood area potentially closing unused roads where there are no occupied structures or locating streetlights only on major roads and thoroughfares and next to occupied structures. While all areas of the city with residents will maintain certain core services, we should make strategic decisions about where to upgrade, maintain, and invest in other services. Decisions for renewal and maintenance of systems could fall into one of four different categories of action for an area based on its future use:
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REDUCE aND maINtaIN: this service level would

offer core service but for the smaller number of people who are actually still in the neighborhood as these areas will likely not regain their original number of residents in the future. would offer basic service but the quality would decline overtime as system renewal is decreased.

maINtaIN aND REPaIR ONLY: this service level

UPGRaDE aND maINtaIN: this service level would offer improved service and better quality maintenance. RENEW aND maINtaIN: this service level would

The maps below show how we could make these strategic decisions based on population and future growth over three time horizons. The map on the right is based off of the future land use map on the left for each time horizon. To read more about the future land use maps, see the Land Use summary document.

offer core service at the same or better quality.

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on the feedback form inserted, please tell us how you think this approach to strategically investing in infrastructure systems could improve service.

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There are many types of infrastructure and city services that can be tailored to a neighborhoods future use. However, no matter what the areas future will be, Detroit Works Project Long Term Planning has identified certain core services that will be offered to anyone living in the city. These core services include such things as: Police and fire emergency response Water and sewer Gas and electricity telecoms/data

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WINDSOR CITY CENTER DISTRICT CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD CTR. GREEN MIXED-RISE MED. DEN. RES. LOW DEN. RES. LIVE / MAKE HEAVY INDUSTRIAL / UTILITIES GENERAL INDUSTRIAL LIGHT INDUSTRIAL GREEN RESIDENTIAL GREEN RESIDENTIAL TRANSITION INNOVATION PRODUCTIVE INNOVATION ECOLOGICAL LARGE PARK / CEMETERIES
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SOURCE: DWPLTP TECHNICAL TEAM 1 1 2 2 4 MILES 4 MILES HAMILTON ANDERSON ASSOCIATES

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Landscape systems provide environmental, fiscal, and social benefits. They can address environmental justice issues by cleaning contaminated soil, improving air quality, buffering impacts of industry/infrastructure on residents, and reducing the cost of service (by reducing construction and operating costs). In short, landscape systems can help ensure that environmental burdens do not disproportionately impact Detroits most vulnerable populations, especially lower incomes and children. An integrated blue and green infrastructure system will allow us to use our vacant land to clean the air and capture and clean storm water through a large network of green corridors, swales, and ponds. Blue corridors

are city-wide, broad, retrofitted streets that include swales along their length and intermittent road-side retention ponds. Green infrastructure corridors are forested buffers that clean air between homes and interstates, or homes and industry. To see blue and green infrastructure development types and how we could apply these development types, see map to the right and the chart on the following pages.

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on the feedback form inserted, please tell us how you think blue and green infrastructure could improve services.

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WINDSOR CITY CENTER DISTRICT CENTER NEIGHBORHOOD CTR. GREEN MIXED-RISE MED. DEN. RES. LOW DEN. RES. LIVE / MAKE HEAVY INDUSTRIAL / UTILITIES GENERAL INDUSTRIAL LIGHT INDUSTRIAL GREEN RESIDENTIAL GREEN RESIDENTIAL TRANSITION INNOVATION PRODUCTIVE INNOVATION ECOLOGICAL LARGE PARK / CEMETERIES
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SOURCE: DWPLTP TECHNICAL TEAM 1 1 2 2 4 MILES 4 MILES HAMILTON ANDERSON ASSOCIATES

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surPLus Vacant LanD

Landscape strategies can be used on Detroits enormous amount of underutilized land to support city infrastructure systems, including storm water/wastewater, energy, roads/ transportation, and waste. Using this land for infrastructure support would provide a threefold benefit: 1) it would reduce maintenance costs for system upkeep, 2) provide productive uses for and maintenance of land to reduce blight, and 3) provide potential amenity space for residents. Landscape systems are also multi-functional; they can do the same things as conventional

must be used to support infrastructure systems

infrastructure and many more things at the same time. Landscape benefits include: reduce maintenance costs stabilize neighborhoods by increasing property values create an attractive, unique environment that can draw new businesses create habitat for wildlife capture and clean stormwater clean soil improve air quality provide recreational opportunities provide new uses for and management of currently vacant land

bluE ANd GREEN INfRAstRuctuRE dEvElOpmENt tYpEs

cARbON fOREst
dEscRIptION Forests that repurpose vacant land around interstates and rail corridors

INdustRIAl bluE cORRIdOR/ stORmwAtER buffER

blvd
Forested areas that repurpose vacant land around industrial uses City-wide, broad, retrofitted streets that include swales along their length and intermittent roadside detention ponds (primarily in high vacancy areas); character of blvd adapts to different urban conditions along their length; these multi-use corridors also integrate public transit and bicycle lanes Conveyance + Detention Collect stormwater from many areas of city and transport to areas with road-side detention ponds for holding (until slowly released back into the combined system)

suRfAcE lAkE
Large, low-lying vacant areas allow for flooding to create lakes, which provide significant retention capacity for storms; swales and other surface conveyance mechanisms direct stormwater into these areas

dIstRIbutEd NEtwORk
Multiple independent networks of swales and other surface conveyance elements that direct stormwater to small to medium-scale retention/ detention ponds in lower lying areas

dIspERsEd pONds
INfIltRAtION pARks Parks that combined stormwater management with recreation scAttEREd Small ponds, rain gardens, or other small-scale blue infrastructure within neighborhoods or employment districts (fit within 1-2 average-sized residential lots); Small-Scale Retention + Neighborhood Stability / Visual Amenity HIGH cONcENtRAtION Many small to medium ponds in close proximity to one another in higher vacancy areas

wEt buffER
High concentration of ponds at significant edges between framework zones or along interstates

RIvER mARsH lANds

Treatment wetlands and vegetated buffer strips on parks and vacant lots

fuNctION

Absorb carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and other pollutants in vehicular exhaust, emitted into the air by car and truck traffic and trains

Reduce the impacts of industrial uses on nearby residential neighborhoods, by absorbing air-borne pollutants, reducing sound, blocking light/ glare, and providing a visual barrier; buffers also act as an amenity to firms, providing an attractive and unique environment in which to do business

High Capacity Detention/ Retention Topography naturally directs surface runoff to these areas, so these are prime areas for capturing stormwater

Conveyance + Detention The topography of these areas calls for many independent systems to collect stormwater from the many higher areas and direct it towards the many lower areas

Detention/ Retention Reduce maintenance costs, repurpose limited maintenance parks and provide additional sources of funding/ maintenance help for parks (potential for partnerships between DRD and DWSD)

High Capacity Retention

Detention + Neighborhood Stability Wet buffers catch runoff before it enters an area of lower vacancy with fewer opportunities for blue infrastructure (if higher vacancy up-hill) or immediately after runoff leaves an area of lower vacancy (if lower vacancy up-hill); in turn, the blue infrastructure acts as a visual amenity, improving neighborhood character in the lower vacancy area

Retention + Treatment Treat stormwater before it flows into the Detroit or Rouge Rivers; these components are a last chance to capture and clean stormwater before it enters the rivers; wetlands and buffer strips also create additional aquatic habitat

Ideally extend 150 meters from the edge of interstates (set back as required by state regulations governing planting along interstates)

Buffer widths vary depending on the scale, intensity, and type of industrial use as well as the character of the adjacent land. General buffer widths are: - Live/Work or adjacent to Innovation Productive or Innovation Ecological: None - Light Industrial: 200 feet - General Industrial: 1/4 mile - Heavy Industrial: 1/2 mile

lOcAtION

Primary corridors: Radial arterials (Woodward, Jefferson, Gratiot, Grand River) and proposed Ring Road connecting employment districts Secondary corridors: McNichols west of Woodward and 7 mile east of Woodward (cross-town connectors proposed for transit)

Internal depressions in citys topography in high vacancy areas, and potentially moderate vacancy

Areas with greater internal variation in topography like Southwest Detroit. These areas have many high points and low areas in close proximity to one another (by contrast, the topography of most other areas of Detroit is characterized by gradual slopes from higher areas in the north and central parts of the city towards the two rivers)

Limited maintenance parks are good candidates to be retrofitted as infiltration parks, but parks in high vacancy areas, lowlying areas, or riverfront parks could be considered as well

Low or moderate vacancy areas; should especially be prioritized in internal low-lying areas (depressions that are not candidates for surface lakes because there is not enough vacancy)

High vacancy areas, especially those areas: - near Rouge or Detroit Rivers - situated to capture runoff from many low vacancy areas that do not have many opportunities for retention within them - along downhill edges of high vacancy areas

On up-hill edge of interstates and greater vacancy side of edge between framework zones

Parks and vacant lots along and near the Detroit or Rouge Rivers.

PuBLic transit

systems must change to get people to more destinations faster

The current transportation system in Detroit doesnt meet the needs of our residents. We need to increase access to employment and other destinations, decrease travel time, and maintain system affordability. To achieve this goal, we need to modify our current system to allow for express and local lines of transit while introducing additional modes of transit and taking steps to encourage walking and bicycling. For instance, prioritizing more rapid routes, through express services and
pOtENtIAl tRANsIt mOdEs
INTERCHANGE

Bus Rapid Transit, to link employment districts throughout the region will help Detroiters get to work more quickly. This rapid system can be supplemented by smaller feeder routes that are serviced by a variety of transportation options including locally operated shuttle services. This will help make transit service faster, more consistent and provide improved access to employment opportunities throughout the region and in doing so, contribute to an improved quality of life for Detroiters.
#

on the feedback form inserted, please tell us how you think this approach to public transit could improve services.
Feeder Interchange II Short term, no/lv. minor xed infrastructure Personal Transport Int. Multi-use parking/storage infrastructure

Employment Center BRT Terminus/ main station

Cross Town Interchange Long term, major xed infrastructure

Feeder Interchange Medium term, minor xed infrastructure

MODES

P
BRT Bus/Rolling Rapid Transit Dedicated routes on main arterials Higher speed/ High capacity 10 min headway Regional/City Transit Provider Bus Conventional Bus (35) Main cross town routes Mid speed/ Mid capacity 10 min headway Mini Bus Shorter bus (20) Typical residential areas Low/Mid speed Low/Mid capacity 10 min headway
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Micro Bus Mini van (20) Low density areas Low/mid speed Low capacity 10 mins or on demand

Park & Ride Private car/Zip car Edge of town Mid speed Low capacity Passenger determined frequency
Private

Commercial/Community Providers
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Projected Population Density People/Acre 0-2 3-6 7 - 10 11 - 14 15 - 18 19 >

Bus Rapid Transit Cross Town Routes Employment Centres Interchange

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