Ideas for Livernois!

Student: Ian Armstrong, Brooke Ellis, Monica Groblewska, Liz Kreska, Ross Piper, John Quaine, Scott Reynolds, Ethan Sims, Alison Suschak, Evan Welch, Trevor Wilson

Collaborators: DCDC, MCD “Project Meerkat”

Livernois Working Group: UDM, DEGC, University Commons, Marygrove College, City of Detroit, MEDC

Instructor: Virginia Stanard

This book features design ideas for Detroit’s Livernois Avenue Corridor and its surrounding communities and is a compilation of work from the Fall 2011 Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) sponsored studio. Rooted in the mission of the DCDC, which is to provide quality design services through community-based design, the studio developed multi-layered strategies for the site, both urban and architectural, by using research, mapping, and stakeholder collaboration as the driving forces of design.

The circumstance for this studio stemmed from the city-wide planning initiative, the Detroit Works Project (DWP), which is charged with improving the physical and economic landscape of Detroit, as the site sits within one of the three DWP demonstration areas for short-term interventions. Additionally, other ongoing planning and community initiatives in the area informed the ideas presented in this book.

A combination of research, design projects, and community engagement tactics are featured among the following major themes: University + Community Connections, Reimagining the Strip, and Filling the Void. This book serves as a testament to the power of design through community collaboration and also serves as a call to action.