Detroit’s Pattern of Growth: Four Key Factors Explain Motor City’s Conflicted Grid

**Scottathew** · February-08-17, 10:59 AM

http://99percentinvisible.org/articl...nflicted-grid/

The above link is an informative article that explains the four major influences on road alignments within Detroit. There's also an interesting historic documentary that is embedded within the article [[that some of you have probably already seen).

...Many of the traffic problems found in Detroit exist at places where different approaches [[like the grid and shoreline systems) intersect, creating strange junctures or forcing elaborate turns. To minimize complications, subsequent additions have been made to conform wherever possible — even more recent freeways of the mid-1900s mainly ended up following systems laid out long in advance, paralleling spoke streets, shoreline or cardinal grids...

1965 Wayne State documentary on Detroit's road grids [[also embedded within the article): https://archive.org/details/detroitspatternofgrowth

**Warrenite84** · February-08-17, 05:51 PM

It's too bad we didn't get a complete triangular layout for downtown. With the extra parks like Capitol Park, it would have been visually stunning.

**Warrenite84** · February-08-17, 06:47 PM

Sketch Up doodle of Detroit if the grid was completed
detroit.pdf

**southen** · February-08-17, 07:14 PM

That would have been incredible. If you think people get lost downtown now though...

**EastsideAl** · February-08-17, 09:09 PM

I think that Detroit's varied street patterns are one of it's historical charms. It's something that makes this city different from the other, younger, midwestern cities that are mostly laid out on the cardinal-direction Jefferson survey grid. Although I do agree with Warrenite above about the Woodward plan streets downtown. It's kind of a shame that a lingering fort and a pre-existing riverfront street grid kept it from being extended further south, and that by the time the city was growing north of Grand Circus no one was interested in extending it. We could have had a much more beautiful and unique center city.

The article linked in the original post also gets some of its facts wrong. For instance, there never was a "zero mile road". While it's true that Ford Road is aligned at the zero mile survey line coming out from downtown [[following the line of Michigan Ave. from downtown to Wyoming), it was never actually called that. And, as anyone from around here should know, it's Eight Mile Rd. that was the actual base line for the Michigan grid survey.

**Junjie** · February-08-17, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by Warrenite84

Sketch Up doodle of Detroit if the grid was completed
detroit.pdf

That's very cool. Reminiscent of core DC, but also distinct.

**Danny** · February-09-17, 07:58 AM

Judge August Woodward want to have a new Downtown Detroit to look like Washington D.C. but the folks D.C. said " You can't copy our plans! Resign your downtown plans." So Woodward redesign the new Downtown Detroit Plan to grid system that we see today.

**Hermod** · February-09-17, 10:16 AM

There are actually two ribbon farm grids. One is oriented on the Detroit River and the other is oriented on the Lake St Clair shoreline. Harper seems to be the divide where they make the adjustment from one to the other.

**jackie5275** · February-09-17, 01:36 PM

Thanks for including the WSU video. I liked seeing some of the areas I drive regularly featured in it such as 2nd & the Blvd and Mt. Elliott & Conant. I also enjoyed see tree after tree after tree in it.

**Gsgeorge** · February-09-17, 02:03 PM

Detroit's mess of conflicting plans and its affect on street continuity were a problem even a century ago, according to this 1904 Detroit Tribune article that Metro Times dug up.

http://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene/...zy-street-grid

Much of his criticisms back then still apply today.