A Safe Dose Of Normalcy
The Downtown Detroit Partnership looks forward to a winter season with a lens of safe practices and health protocols
Campus Martius Park in the heart of Downtown Detroit prior to the pandemic. Courtesy of the Downtown Detroit Partnership
The pandemic hit Detroit earlier than most other cities. With a strict lockdown that began in early March, the Downtown Detroit Partnership was frozen in a strange transition period for months.
Even as winter loosened its grip on the city, the city seemed locked in time; the local outdoor ice rink sat half-dismantled until May.
“Detroiters took it seriously from the beginning,” says David Cowan, director of Public Spaces for the partnership. “We were stuck in the winter-spring transition and had to play catch up to accommodate the resurgence of people who were pent up inside in those early months.”
The reopening began in the first few weeks of June, slowly, but surely. The partnership, which is responsible for about 1,600 events every year and 500,000 square feet of urban parks, reengaged with programming on June 19. With strict new guidelines and sanitation protocols, Cowan and his team had to reimagine how to serve their Detroiters.
“Marketing has been one of the biggest challenges, I think,” Cowan says. “Our parks aren’t that big—they’re between 1.2 and two acres—but they’re versatile, they host many different types of activities.”
So, Cowan and his team are in an odd balancing act: they have to market their programs so that people know they can safely enjoy downtown parks, but not bring in so many people that the parks become unsafe. Additionally, the non-profit has had to completely change how it raises funds to support park maintenance and programs.
Partnership employees did this all while adapting to their new normal.
“We were already a small and flexible team with a lot of responsibility,” Cowan says. “But we’ve learned to be more nimble, to be open to constant changes, and to stay calm.”
The team first focused on phasing-in things that were economically important: outdoor seating for restaurants, access for food trucks, and events to safely support local businesses. Then the team phased in programs to help support individuals, namely access to the outdoors and fitness programs.
“We had to balance safety protocols with still providing a dose of normalcy that people needed,” Cowan says. “That’s what we worked on in March, April, May, and the first part of June. Now, we have a book with 30 pages of cleaning and safety protocols.”
The results were socially distant programs, safe access to outdoor parks, and strict sanitization to support a summer boom of outdoor recreation. As the team looks ahead to the winter season, they’re excited to continue that effort. Soon, the 60-foot Detroit Christmas Tree will stand tall above Campus Martius Park, dazzling holiday lights will decorate Beacon Park, and the local ice rink will be fully rebuilt.