Detroit Public Transportation Competition

During National Transportation Week, submissions will be due on April 30.

For fifty years, Detroit has had no rapid transit. In addition to holding back our region’s growth and development, this also means that the public has little understanding of what transit would look like here, how it would work, and how it could encourage redevelopment and revitalization. Knowing the value of effective visuals in building public perception and sparking public imagination and excitement, Transportation Riders United is holding a design contest: Detroit in Transit…
We will hold a design contest, inviting student and professional artists, designers, urban planners and architects to submit designs of what Detroit’s transit and transit-oriented neighborhoods could look like in 2025. There will be three parts to the contest:

- Designs of transit vehicles on a streetscape
- Architectural designs of transit stations in a streetscape
- Urban planning designs of vibrant neighborhoods or intersections around transit stations or stops

The parameters of the contest will be broad - any design incorporating transit on a real street or in a real neighborhood in Detroit or its inner suburbs will be considered. The design should be something that could realistically be built in the next twenty years (assuming with sufficient investment and support).

We will provide a map of where transit is likely to be developed, including both regional commuter rail and modern streetcar / light rail. We will also provide some specific suggested locations, with current maps, images, and other relevant data.

Contest criteria and details will be sent out to area schools, various web forums, etc in early March. We will work with teachers and professors from area schools to encourage entries. Submissions will be due on April 30.

Designs will be judged both on their visual appeal and design merit by both professionals (in art and urban design) and local residents. Five finalists from each category will be selected. These fifteen designs will be displayed at a fundraising event for Transportation Riders United on Friday, May 18. Finalists will each be given two
complementary tickets. At the event, the runner up and the winner in each category will be announced. (If possible, we will get an art supply store to donate gift certificates for each winner as a sponsor of the event, but this has not been confirmed.)

In addition to displaying the finalists and announcing the winners, the event will also include a brief presentation of TRU’s transit vision and what we are doing to make these transit visions become reality.

Transportation Riders United (TRU) is a local non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and improving public transit in greater Detroit, including improving the existing bus service and bringing quality rapid transit to the region, just like every other major city.