Traveler/blogger spends the day in Campus Martius

A travel blogger spends the day in Campus Martius and posts an in depth piece on the public square.

Excerpt:

As the City didn't have the financial resources, this was the only way Campus Martius could be built and maintained. The model drawn on was New York City's Bryant Park, also redeveloped and maintained by a private non-profit corporation. Twenty million dollars was raised from Detroit corporations and private foundations. The result, an attractive, well-used, open space (opened in 2004, and expanded in 2007), managed by the Detroit 300 Conservancy.

It's an interesting question whether one of the key downtown open spaces for a wide range of events should be developed and managed by a private entity, even if it's a non-profit with the best interests of the city at its heart. But that's the reality of 21st century America, at least in fiscally-strapped cities, where the only money available to invest comes from the private corporations (motivated by civic values, a desire to preserve the value of their own corporate assets, or perhaps some combination of the two).

Read the entire post here.