City of Southfield, MI

Terry Croad

Terry Croad brings nearly four decades of leadership in urban planning and design, helping cities translate vision into livable, resilient communities. His work bridges public policy, landscape architecture and community engagement, advancing inclusive stronger civic infrastructure and long-term development strategies that shape how municipalities adapt and serve residents.

Placemaking is an approach to planning, designing and maintaining public spaces with the goal of improving urban vitality, empowering communities and creating health and wellbeing benefits for those within the community.

The City of Southfield has embraced this concept with its Southfield City Centre Trail, a new urban greenway that brings community-desired walkability to a suburb once hostile to any form of transportation other than the personally owned vehicle. Carved away from years of suburban indifference toward the needs of pedestrians, this trail provides space and access for individuals to connect and collaborate.

Situated along a major urban freeway, the trail is now a welcoming venue for heart-healthy activity and provides opportunities for human-to-human and human-to-nature interactions. Forming the backbone for additional trail development and placemaking, the Southfield City Centre Trail has spurred economic development and promotes civic engagement through community-building events in a space where people feel safe and welcome.

Southfield’s History

Southfield (pop. 76,618) is a first-ring Detroit suburb, designed in mid-century to reflect the prosperity of a vehicle-centric world. Its land use patterns ignored the needs of pedestrians, providing, at best, a fragmented system with sidewalks too narrow to accommodate both foot traffic and cyclists. And, in areas not serviced by sidewalks, “goat paths” appeared from persistent trudging feet and bicycle wheels. But for elderly individuals or persons with disabilities, the area was impassable. Students, faculty and staff from the nearby Lawrence Technological University (LTU) and area businesses would need to get in a vehicle to access restaurants and amenities that were well within walking distance.

Following the Great Recession, the business community requested help with attraction and retention of young professionals to the Southfield City Centre district, which is not a traditional downtown. In 2016, in support of “Sustainable Southfield,” the city’s master plan, community members engaged in a digital and face-to-face campaign and shared priorities of connectivity and walkability. The goal was to reimagine and enhance the City Centre as not only a thriving business district, but an urban center on a human scale, with opportunities for walking, meeting, sitting and enjoying nature.

Non-motorized Infrastructure

Evergreen Road, redeveloped in 2016 in accordance with Complete Streets tenets, helped stakeholders realize this vehicle-centric city could be a walkable one. It wasn’t until the urban trail was established that the holistic plan coalesced.

To provide balance for non-motorized transportation and to create space for safe, heart-healthy walking and cycling, the design’s backbone is a main greenway spine primarily developed over the past 10 years that provides walking circuits, connected by wide shared-use paths, with spurs that take non-motorized traffic in several directions throughout the district. Through a public-private partnership, the City Centre has launched a popular bikeshare program with eight stations strategically placed along the trail.

Greenway Respite

The greenway trail provides more than 20,000 office workers, residents, students and visitors the chance to engage with nature year-round on accessible paths that wind through outdoor “rooms” where more than 100 trees of several species, carefully selected to encourage bird and wildlife habitats, were planted.

The trees share space with native plants that naturally reduce storm drainage and are loved by pollinators like bees and butterflies. The entire greenway counteracts stormwater runoff by absorbing water and reducing drainage. Passers-by can educate themselves about the value of urban wildlife, pollinators and environmental sustainability through interpretive panels placed along the route, a resource that enhances knowledge and therefore stewardship, of outdoor resources. Large Monarch Butterfly and Bumble Bee sculptures enhance the trail and add a touch of whimsy. Encouraging “you can!” signage provides positive messaging for people on the trail.

Along the greenway, architecturally styled birdhouses provide shelter for wildlife and serve as natural conversation starters, and a bicycle repair station aids cyclists when needed. Benches, placed with intention to provide accessible respite stations, enhance social equity and encourage pedestrians of all abilities.

Pedestrians and cyclists on the trail can engage with Red Pole Park, an immersive art installation built cooperatively through crowdfunding and placemaking-matched dollars from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Red Pole Park’s placement enhances pedestrian experience because it crosses the built path and provides a buffer between foot traffic and the freeway service drive. On the freeway, 110,000 travelers in motor vehicles can view the art installation each day, and at night, the red poles are lit with twinkling blue lights.

Local Economy Attraction and Retention

Land adjacent to the trail that for more than a decade stood fallow is now desirable real estate and has attracted three separate developments: an automotive supplier’s design headquarters, a small wedding and event center and two complementary hotel brands. In addition, LTU has expanded from a largely commuter campus to a residential college with newly built halls of residence and a renewed investment in varsity sports, even a new multisport stadium that attracts families and other sports enthusiasts to the City Centre, many taking advantage of the adjacent trail for pedestrian access to these amenities.

A Place to Engage

Since the City Centre Trail was established, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation has made the district home for its annual Take Steps-sponsored Walk, bringing as many as 1,800 participants on a June Saturday each year. The district has also attracted summer lunchtime concerts, food truck rallies, art walks, Juneteenth Week with concerts, a health fair, Black history education, family events including the Mayor’s Walk along the trail, and a celebration of African American art.

Apart from organized activities, the trail is available every day year-round for strolling, running, cycling, dog-walking and enjoying nature. For individuals who spend much of their lives in artificial environments and office spaces, the Southfield City Centre Trail encourages health and vitality through fresh air and nature for every one of every age in the community, all just steps away.