Planning the Road to Retail Success

CM credit hours for mobile workshops are awarded based on the planned dedicated instructional time. Adjustments to CM hours will not be made after the live event.

Vibrant commercial corridors are at the heart of thriving neighborhoods, offering places for gathering and shopping and opportunities for residents and entrepreneurs. Their businesses and plazas create a sense of community identity and belonging.

In Detroit, years of disinvestment and population loss saw iconic corridors like the Livernois Avenue of Fashion experience commercial vacancy and blight, but an evolving coalition of small businesses, place-based organizations, philanthropy, and a range of city agencies and programs charted a path to a newly thriving Livernois.

This tour highlights how city planning efforts took shape through initiatives like the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation's Revolve and Motor City Match programs, the city's Strategic Neighborhood Fund, and Livernois's new designation as Detroit's first Michigan Main Street. Explore how the city's 2018 Neighborhood Retail Opportunity Study framed these efforts, and how a data-driven approach contributed to long-term success.

Livernois's transformation is a result of the combined impacts of public investment in streetscape improvements, private support for minority developers, and city programs to elevate underserved entrepreneurs. Smart planning, combined with robust implementation, ensured the Livernois/McNichols Corridor Plan resulted in a transformed commercial district and opportunities for residents and entrepreneurs.