Greenways Are Reviving American Cities, but They Can Be Better - Time
On a gray, blustery November afternoon in Detroit, John Kish watches vigilantly as his four-year-old grandson, also named John, frolics on a towering play slide. If the day was sunny, there might be a line to use it, but given the weather, they have it to themselves.
“It’s a long climb, but it gives them something to do,” Kish says, laughing, as the youngster carefully crosses a bridge within the structure.
The playground sits at the West Warren Avenue stop on the Joe Louis Greenway, a network of bike paths, walking paths, playgrounds, and activity centers that’s planned to connect 23 Detroit neighborhoods. Once its 27.5 mile length is complete, it also will pass through Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Highland Park, Mich. and conclude at the Detroit riverfront.
Under construction since 2021, this greenway, named for the champion boxer, is part of a growing urban trend. From Atlanta and Boston to Dallas and Long Island, cities are reclaiming previously industrial or abandoned land and transforming it into recreational areas.
