Detroit: A Great Lakes City or a River City? (St. Clair: law school, college)

[green_mariner]

It's BOTH. Detroit wouldn't be Detroit without the Great Lakes and the Detroit River together. Detroit is the point where the Great Lakes are connected. Detroit is a major shipping lake of the Great Lakes region.

[Retroit]

I wonder how many people really feel part of the Great Lakes or Detroit River? Unless you fish or boat, the water is really not a big part of people's lives. I live only a few miles from Lake St. Clair, but rarely see it. I really wish the early settlers would have made it all parkland along the water so that it was more accessible.

[craig11152]

Interesting discussion. I never gave it much thought.
I will only say that while we can have a semantic debate about what constitutes a river the NOAA, DNR, USGS and USF&WS all consider the Detroit River a river.

[ekman243]

Originally Posted by Retroit

I wonder how many people really feel part of the Great Lakes or Detroit River? Unless you fish or boat, the water is really not a big part of people's lives. I live only a few miles from Lake St. Clair, but rarely see it. I really wish the early settlers would have made it all parkland along the water so that it was more accessible.

You sound like someone who hasn't even been to Detroit. Where do you think the Riverwalk and Belle Isle is at?There are hotels on the riverfront in both countries. What body of water do you cross to get to Canada? The Detroit River is always crowded with boats, ships and concerts. Yes the Detroit River is being utilized

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by Retroit

I wonder how many people really feel part of the Great Lakes or Detroit River? Unless you fish or boat, the water is really not a big part of people's lives. I live only a few miles from Lake St. Clair, but rarely see it. I really wish the early settlers would have made it all parkland along the water so that it was more accessible.

I agree a million percent

There are no public accessible beaches/parkland along Lake St. Clair's shoreline in Wayne and Macomb Counties except for Lake St. Clair Metropark and a 100 foot long beach at the foot of New Baltimore's downtown street. That's like 25 miles of coastline!

[MS313]

Originally Posted by ekman243

You sound like someone who hasn't even been to Detroit. Where do you think the Riverwalk and Belle Isle is at?There are hotels on the riverfront in both countries. What body of water do you cross to get to Canada? The Detroit River is always crowded with boats, ships and concerts. Yes the Detroit River is being utilized

The Detroit river is more utilized for public access than Lake St. Clair is... at least it seems that way to me. Once you get past Grosse Pointe Shores Park most of Lake St. Clair's shoreline is blocked by neighborhoods. Most of the parks that are there seems like their private. The only one I know of is Metro Beach, other than that the entire lake is an afterthought for most people in Detroit (excluding the people living on the shore). For Lake St. Clair to be the biggest lake in a major city, it should be what Lake Michigan is to Chicago or Milwaukee which is mostly accessible for public use.

[North 42]

Lol, I don't thing any of the settlers were thinking about setting up parkland in 1701, the whole area was forested at that time.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by North 42

Lol, I don't thing any of the settlers were thinking about setting up parkland in 1701, the whole area was forested at that time.

They were a little more concerned with: "How do I not die this week?"

[usroute10]

Originally Posted by North 42

Lol, I don't thing any of the settlers were thinking about setting up parkland in 1701, the whole area was forested at that time.

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

They were a little more concerned with: "How do I not die this week?"

The Plan of Chicago developed by Daniel Burnham in 1909, its No. 1 element:

Foremost among the plan's goals was reclaiming the lakefront for the public. “The Lakefront by right belongs to the people," wrote Burnham. "Not a foot of its shores should be appropriated to the exclusion of the people.”

Of the city's 29 miles (47 km) of lakefront, all but four miles (six kilometres) are today public parkland.

I wish we had forward thinkers in Southeastern Michigan in the early 1900's like Chicago. We ended up with a closed off lakefront and the worst transit system in the nation due to our planners.

The 1700's are irrevelant.

Same sorry thing for Windsor. Windsor has miles of Lake St. Clair frontage in its city limits, and only a tiny 300-foot long beach set aside for the public's recreation and a marina. Your riverfront is great though

The more access to unique water assets for the public good (how many large metro areas have a lake as large as St. Clair??) = more attractive metropolitan area IMO

[North 42]

Probably over half of Windsor's waterfront real estate is now public parks, not many cities can say the same. The city has been buying up riverfront properties since the 60s to accomplish this feat, and it has greatly improved the esthetics of the waterfront.