Detroit Regional Chamber > Detroit Policy Conference > Toni Griffin: Detroit Is a Design and Planning Pioneer

Toni Griffin: Detroit Is a Design and Planning Pioneer

March 7, 2017

Sharing the power of inclusivity and strategic planning, Toni Griffin, founder of Urban Planning for the American City shared her perspective on Detroit’s progress during her opening keynote at this year’s Conference.

No stranger to the Motor City, the renowned urban strategist known for work on Detroit Future City commended Detroit on its sustained transformation.

“Detroit has punched through its most difficult urban challenges. It has punched out the naysays who said you couldn’t do it, and it is punching into a new decade of stabilization, improvement and transformation,” Griffin said. “The fist (Detroit’s signature monument to boxer Joe Louis) has become a new symbol of American resiliency.”

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While traveling the country, Griffin said areas like New Jersey and Washington, D.C. are increasingly looking to Detroit for lessons learned on planning and urban revitalization.

“Detroit is a city to watch, a city to model, and a city on the rise again,” she said. “The world now sees Detroit as a design and planning pioneer.”

The keynote address was sponsored by The Kresge Foundation.

Read more from the 2017 Detroit Policy Conference:

Janette Sadik-Khan: Revitalization Begins by Building Cities for People