Project for Public Spaces Awards Downtown Detroit Partnership with Community Placemaking Grant to Reimagine Surrounding Streets in Campus Martius District

DETROIT – Downtown Detroit Partnership announced today that it has been awarded a Community Placemaking Grant: Streets as Places & Destinations Stations by Project for Public Spaces to turn Campus Martius District in Downtown Detroit into a safer, pedestrian-focused space and implement traffic-calming measures for year-round safety. Thanks to support from General Motors, Downtown Detroit Partnership, along with two other grant recipients, will receive $100,000 each in direct funding, as well as planning, implementation and capacity building assistance from Project for Public Spaces. The project will make the surrounding streets around Campus Martius Park safer and more welcoming for the millions of visitors annually once completed.

Campus Martius Park is an award-winning, highly programmed 1.8-acre public park in the heart of Downtown Detroit that hosted more than 1,200 events and activities in 2024 alone. Due to growing programming and crowding during the peak holiday season and major events, the streets surrounding Campus Martius Park and Cadillac Square are temporarily closed to vehicles. The Community Placemaking Grant awarded to the Downtown Detroit Partnership will allow them to work with Project for Public Spaces to strategically approach and implement longer-term design that will safely pedestrianize the area and add traffic-calming improvements to better safeguard the community year-round.

“Campus Martius Park serves as a critical civic anchor in the heart of Detroit, supporting a wide range of cultural programming and everyday public life,” said David Cowan, chief public spaces officer for the Downtown Detroit Partnership. “This opportunity allows the city to evaluate and test more pedestrian-centered uses for surrounding streets, prioritizing safety, flexibility and multimodal access. By rethinking how these streets evolve, the city can better accommodate peak demand during large events, relieve pressure on the park and create adaptable public spaces that respond to how people use the area year-round. The Downtown Detroit Partnership is grateful to Project for Public Spaces and General Motors for supporting forward-thinking urban design.”

Since launching in fall 2021, Project for Public Spaces’ Community Placemaking Grants have supported 22 U.S.-based nonprofits and local government agencies in partnering with communities to transform their public spaces into inclusive, vibrant places that welcome underserved community members, strengthen social connections and enhance quality of life for all. This new cohort of grantees was selected for their proposed initiatives that aligned with one of two strategic focus areas. “Streets as Places” aims to improve traffic safety while elevating streets as the most accessible public spaces across the United States. “Destination Stations” focuses on enhancing user experience and increasing awareness of micromobility options and public transit at mobility hubs through public space amenities and programming.

“We are proud to welcome our new Community Placemaking Grantees and look forward to reimagining these unique places together as safer and more vibrant public destinations for everyone,” said Elena Madison, Project for Public Spaces’ director of projects. “We are deeply grateful to our sponsor General Motors for being an essential partner in our efforts to unlock the full potential of streets and transit plazas as great places for people.”

Applicants were selected based on their commitment to engaging community groups, participating in an open-ended visioning process, demonstrating the capacity to deliver projects on time and on budget, and building strong partnerships with relevant organizations and public agencies. These placemaking projects will follow a “lighter, quicker, cheaper” approach, prioritizing high-impact, low-cost improvements that advance long-term community goals.

The two other Community Placemaking Grant recipients are the City of Traverse City for East Side Social District in Traverse City, Michigan, and Southbank Partners for Saratoga Plaza in Newport, Kentucky.

Starting in February 2026, Project for Public Spaces’ Placemaking team will work with grantees to engage with their communities, co-create a vision for activation, develop designs and support construction and programmatic implementation for each place. Projects are expected to be completed by November 2026. Click here to learn more about Community Placemaking Grants: Streets as Places & Destinations Stations.