Campus Martius, in Detroit's downtown, just got serious. It was always serious to Detroiters, but outside validation just feels so damn good. The Urban Land Institute named Campus Martius the first ever recipient of the Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award, which recognizes outstanding examples of public open spaces that ... well ... just read the clip below. It's worth noting that our park beat out places like Boston, New York, and Seattle.
Excerpt from the
Detroit Free Press:
Detroit's Campus Martius Park was named today the first-ever winner of the Urban Land Institute's Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award, given in a national competition to recognize an outstanding example of a public open space that has catalyzed the transformation of the surrounding community.
The announcement was made this morning at ULI's Real Estate Summit in Boston. Detroit's park was chosen over park finalists in Boston, New York, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Greenville, S.C., for the top honor. The finalists were chosen from among 88 initial entries.
ULI is a global nonprofit research and advocacy organization devoted to good urban planning and responsible land use. Amanda Burden, chair of the New York City Planning Commission, created the award to honor creatively designed, successful urban gathering spaces.
In giving the award, Burden noted that Campus Martius had replaced the former Kennedy Square plaza, long deemed a failure of urban design and rarely used by anyone.
In contrast, she said of Campus Martius, "This park has far exceeded all expectations, in terms of the lift it has provided to Detroit's social and economic well-being."
Read the entire article
here.
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