Contextual Transit

Abstract

Over the last one hundred years Detroit has risen to become one of the most populated cities in American with the help of the automobile industry and has since become a deteriorating city losing population constantly as the “Big Three” try to reestablish themselves. Since the first rejection of a subway system that occurred in the early 1920’s and the abandonment of the surface trolley system in the 1950’s the city has been struggling to implement an efficient way of travel throughout the city. Currently people only have three ways to get from point A to point B: by using human power, taking an untimely bus, or driving a car. The problem is that a good majority of the population in Detroit do not have their own means of transportation, and with the cutting of the current bus lines citizens have no way of traveling around this once great city. Fortunately, a plan is in place to begin the process of bringing mass transit back to the city of Detroit. The first stage is the M-1 rail, a light rail system that will begin at Hart Plaza and continue north 3.4 miles along Woodward Avenue to the New Center. Future additions of the line will eventually continue out to Pontiac. Future lines of an expanded transit system following Gratiot, Grand River, Warren and Jefferson Avenue are being considered as well as a possible commuter lines connecting the city of Detroit with the cities of Ann Arbor, Pontiac, Port Huron and Toledo. This development of transit is important to the resurrection of Detroit. There are some key factors that need to be considered when developing the stations along these lines, such as the user group of the stations, the needs of local residents, and above all security. In order to start this recovery the city will need to attract people back into Detroit, while also responding to key needs of it’s citizens. So the question is whether Detroit, which is in such a state of disarray, can afford for these transit stations to just be a basic shelter that only serves as part of the infrastructure system? In order for these stations to fulfill their potential value to the city, each station should become its own destination. By doing so, not only would the building fulfill the basic requirements for mass transit, getting people from point A to point B safely and effectively, but the major capital investment at each station could also be seen as an opportunity to create a network of destinations that respond carefully to the neighborhoods within which they are located. Each station will have a different context so integrating it into the neighborhood will be of great importance. In order for the stations to become successful destinations the sense of arrival must be present. If the rider does not feel that they have completed their journey the sensation that the station is also a destination will be lost. Each of these stations is responsible for facilitating the transfer the passengers from point A to point B safely and effectively, but the goal of each station is to encourage a second wave of development. In order to spark this second wave there is a need for these stations to respond to their immediate surroundings. The reason for this is to allow citizens to experience the city and the characteristics of its surroundings. This balance between the larger system and the local surroundings is of great importance because if either goal is unfulfilled the stations will not function as intended.