Downtown

Downtown Detroit is a study in contradictions: Art Deco-era skyscrapers and towering monoliths from the 50s and 60s cast their shadows over vacant, desolate sections of cityscape. An entire section of downtown, between Park Avenue and Grand River, looks almost post-apocalyptic: large stretches of empty parking lots spread out like a blight, with only a few empty derelicts dotting their surfaces. Some streets appear prosperous, lined with shops and well-maintained apartment buildings, while others are vacant and dead--as if there's been a game economic Russian Roulette, in which some neighborhoods survive while other blocks mysteriously die.

The downtown area is shaped like a slightly tilted rectangle, its sides defined by freeways (Michigan Highway 10, I-75, and I-375) and the river. Grand Circus Park, the surrounding arts district, DTE Plaza and Ford Field occupy the northern third of this rectangle. Greektown and the neighboring Bricktown are on the eastern side, and the Financial District lies to the south nearest the riverfront. At the heart of downtown is Campus Martius Park, the origin point for Detroit's radiating street plan. The Detroit People Mover, a circular public transit line with driverless cars, serves the entire downtown area.