Detroit riverfront among world’s ‘best city walks’

As a popular destination for outdoor activities and public events, Detroit’s riverfront attracts much attention from visitors across the region. Now, its awe-inspiring features are also earning global renown.

The Guardian, the London-based publication, this month named the city’s revived stretch along the river as among the six best city walks in the world.

Readers were asked to share their favorite haunts amid “urban wandering.” They responded with tales highlighting spots in locales such as Portland, Oregon; Dublin; and Istanbul.

The Motor City made the short list thanks to praise from visitor Daniel Gilmartin, who wrote that the downtown waterfront offers a uniquely modern blend.

“Along the water is a mix of renovated spaces and outdated factories built at the height of the industrial era. The contrast opens the mind to the challenges and changes in cities,” he wrote in a post included in the article. “A block off the water is the entrance into the thriving downtown that was thought to be dead just a decade ago. Excitement and energy are all around.”

Not only that, Gilmartin noted the architecture, which he described as “a mix of 1920s art deco, mid-century modern and new. Wandering in and out of the grand buildings is an experience everyone can enjoy. The attention to detail and the enormous skills of the craftsman who built these icons is on full display. Everything is within a mile. Most of it is pedestrian friendly. All of it is enlightening.”

Several miles along the Detroit River shoreline are managed by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, which has raised some $120 million since 2003 to pay for redevelopment projects.

The first phase of its “waterfront transformation” effort — a 3.5 mile stretch between Joe Louis Arena downtown and Gabriel Richard Park near Belle Isle — is more than 80 percent complete, according to the nonprofit’s website.

“The completed portions of the east riverfront, along with its sister rails-to-trails greenway, the Dequindre Cut, are populated with approximately three million visitors annually who come to walk, run, bike, spend time with family and friends and take advantage of the quality of life opportunity a revitalized riverfront provides,” officials wrote. Attractions include parks, plazas, pavilions, pathways and green space.