Detroit’s Master Plan of Policies will guide city housing, development and other land use decisions in the years ahead.
The city is in the final stages of its first detailed revision of the city’s master plan since 2009. The process, coined Plan Detroit, launched in February 2024 by Detroit’s Planning and Development Department, and is expected to conclude in August.
“The master plan is an opportunity to have your voice heard and represented in this long-term vision of where we want the city to go, so that we can all make sure we’re working together to achieve that vision,” Planning and Development Department Deputy Director Dara O’Byrne told BridgeDetroit.
The current draft plan has come together with extensive public engagement with residents, stakeholder groups and others via pop-up events throughout the City Voice Tour, a series of district by district community engagement events.
“Detroit will be a city of choice and opportunity, and we want that choice and opportunity to be for all Detroiters,” O’Byrne said.
With multiple planning phases and a chorus of voices informing the new plan, here’s a digestible guide for understanding Plan Detroit, chances to weigh in, who it affects, and next steps in the ongoing process:
What is the master plan?
The master plan is a policy document used in city planning and policies to help shepherd the future vision of Detroit by looking decades ahead.
The core pieces of the plan are policies and mapping strategies developed during community engagement workshops to help inform neighborhood zoning decisions and other priorities.
The process has three main phases:
- Reviewing existing plans, collaborating with city departments, and initiating public outreach.
- Drafting policy to guide long-term city planning and zoning decisions. These policies will categorize land based on its character, design and function, rather than strictly dictating a specific use. The phase also includes implementing public feedback, and increasing public engagement through in-depth and targeted focus groups.
- The current and final plan phase will circulate the draft for public review and incorporate additional feedback. The plan will then head to the City Planning Commission for a public hearing and approval before it’s presented to the Detroit City Council for adoption.
What does the master plan help inform?
The master plan will help guide long-term decisions regarding the city’s growth and development.
Examples include:
- Informing budget decisions, investments and economic strategies
- Land use planning, zoning decisions and housing demands
- Developing roads and public transit
While the master plan will influence policies and resource allocation to communities across the city, it is different from more targeted neighborhood planning where community-specific priorities are determined neighborhood by neighborhood.
Why does the master plan matter?
The master plan presents a vision of goals to support Detroit 20 years into the future. As more people engage with the master plan, more voices will be represented in Detroit’s long-term vision. This process is an opportunity for Detroiters to communicate the types of development and programming that matter to them and are needed within their communities.
How often is it updated?
By state statute the master plan should be formally updated every 10 years, and every five years it should be reevaluated for minor adjustments. However, amendments and revisions can be made at any time.
Detroit’s existing master plan was not updated within the statutory timeframe due to an economic downtown fueled by the Great Recession, population decline and financial challenges in the years ahead of Detroit’s 2013 bankruptcy filing, which made long term decisions difficult, O’Byrne noted.
What are the next steps?
By late summer and early fall, the Planning and Development Department hopes to finalize a draft plan and begin a state-mandated 63 day public comment period, where they plan to make updates as feedback is received.
How can I provide feedback and engage with the master plan?
More than 8,500 community members have engaged with the master plan since February 2024 across all meetings and events.
Beyond the future state-mandated public comment period, there are still opportunities to provide feedback through upcoming online and in-person community events.
While future events have not yet been scheduled, residents and other interested parties can sign up for Plan Detroit’s newsletter for updates or text PLANDET to 844-293-1374. Questions can also be emailed to detroitmasterplan@detroitmi.gov.
“If folks feel like they haven’t been engaged yet, it’s not too late,” O’Byrne said. “We definitely want your feedback. There’s going to be opportunities to do that in the coming months, and we think that it is really important to have this master plan to help shape the work that we do here in the city.”