Place & Infrastructure
While a destination’s utilities, roads, transit systems, and public realm aren’t typically visitor drivers, they strongly influence how enjoyable, comfortable, safe, and memorable a visit can be.
Overview
The ‘invisible’ traits of a destination are immediately noticeable when they fail – for example, when there is no reliable internet, sewage systems to support commercial density, and smooth, safe roads.
As such, it is important that Oakland County continues to invest in enhancing infrastructure to support commercial development in its ‘Emerging’ cities/towns and multi-modal exploration across the County, including pedestrian enhancements and coordination with transit providers and Trail Towns.
Downtown Infrastructure
‘Emerging’ downtowns need critical support to improve infrastructure and utility to be able to support increased density of businesses/commercial offerings, including lodging. Public realm enhancements may include permanent infrastructure such as plazas, benches, lighting, and parklets or temporary activations.
Lodging
Oakland County has the opportunity to fill gaps in midscale inventory with boutique lodging that aligns more closely with preferences of the traveler seeking an urban city escape or with corporate groups seeking ‘retreat-like’ atmospheres.
Wayfinding & Signage
The County’s Great Outdoors experiences are currently disjointed – not simply due to gaps in the trail network but also a lack of a unified wayfinding language/system across trails. In particular, this impacts new users who are less familiar with the area.
Goal #7:
To build on small-town charm and visitor readiness
Strategies
01
02
03
Form a “Utility Readiness Team” to build on emerging town potential.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
 Medium |  Future |
Why is this important?
Oakland County’s downtowns are major visitor assets as hubs of shopping, dining, lodging, entertainment, and most importantly, family-friendly events. However, not all of its downtowns are ready to support and welcome visitor volumes.
In a Downtown Assessment conducted as part of the Destination Diagnostic, the consultant team identified the following ‘Emerging’ downtowns as needing critical support to improve infrastructure and utility to be able to support increased density of businesses/commercial offerings, including lodging (whether short term rental or hotels/motels): Berkley, Beverly Hills, Groveland, Clawson, Hazel Park, Lathrup Village, Leonard, Ortonville, and South Lyon.
Support boutique lodging development in ‘High Potential’ communities.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
 High |  Near Term |
Why is this important?
While hotel development will remain challenging in the market, Oakland County has the opportunity to fill gaps in midscale inventory with boutique lodging that aligns more closely with preferences of the traveler seeking an urban city escape or with corporate groups seeking ‘retreat-like’ atmospheres.
At this time, development pipeline in the market is significant with more than 1,800 rooms under construction across Metro Detroit. However, a majority of the rooms are classified as luxury and upscale inventory, with clustering of rooms being built in the Auburn Hills/Madison Heights submarket.
Case Study: Opportunity Appalachia (OH, KY)
Opportunity Appalachia is a targeted technical assistance program to support downtown and rural real estate development projects. The program is an excellent regional partnership offering support to communities across two States, Ohio and Kentucky. Selected applicants receive between $30,000-$60,000 to be used toward technical assistance including: Development of investment prospectus, preparation of pro forma financial projections, structuring of project financing, market research, demand assessment, architectural and engineering, operations planning, and investor outreach.
Establish a creative placemaking program.
The Creative Placemaking program would provide grant funding and technical support to place-based, community organizations to implement public realm enhancements that integrate arts & culture. The program would focus on ‘High Potential’ communities as outlined in the Destination Diagnostic, including Clarkston, Franklin, Highland, Holly, Lyon, Madison Heights, Oxford, Pontiac, and Oak Park. Public realm enhancements may include permanent infrastructure such as plazas, benches, lighting, and parklets or temporary activations/installations beyond murals (e.g. interactive sculptures, play streets/zones, projection art, modular/mobile event structures). Projects funded by the program should also serve to increase access to neighboring/adjacent green and blue open spaces, create performance/art spaces for outdoor entertainment, and drive night-time activity.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
 Low |  Immediate |
Why is this important?
As part of the Downtown Assessment conducted, the team identified burgeoning efforts and investments by place-based management entities such as Main Street organizations and local municipalities in creative placemaking to create a sense of identity on their unique corridors. These efforts, however, are not even across the County resulting in strong place brands in some communities than others.
As such, it is vital that the County support ‘High Potential’ and ‘Emerging’ communities in their creative placemaking efforts to not only keep up with efforts demonstrated in other parts of the County but to further increase visibility of their unique corridors to wider audiences and invite foot traffic.
Case Study: Cook County Arts Initiative (IL)
The Initiative, a collaboration between the County, Arts Alliance Illinois, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), was launched in 2025 to boost the arts and culture sector in the suburbs of Chicago. Grants of between $50,000-$250,000 will be distributed to nonprofit organizations leading collaborative creative placemaking projects. In addition to financial support, LISC will provide technical assistance to grantees as they work to implement their projects.
Goal #8:
To connect visitor experience clusters through alternative mobility options
Strategies
01
02
Expand on event-based transit opportunities.
To date, transit providers in the County have operated several event-specific shuttle services in partnership with event organizers and municipalities. Given the proven success of these special event shuttles during Woodward Dream Cruise (week-long service), Ferndale Pride, Rochester Big Bright Light Show, and Arts, Beats & Eats, the County should work closely with transit providers to design, coordinate, and run other fixed route services on major holidays/weekends to connect clusters of visitor attractions. This may include a ‘Cool Corridors’ service route operated during a multi-downtown marquee event day or other thematic service routes (‘Go Outdoors’) connecting communities with outdoor recreation points-of-interest during peak summer weekends.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
| Medium | Near Term |
Why is this important?
In particular, the large size/geographic spread of the County and the limited use of the highway systems for transit present significant challenges with operating public transit systems efficiently. As such, it is important that the destination consider alternative mobility options, particularly to connect across visitor activity clusters.
Continue to support trail planning, connectivity, and wayfinding development.
Oakland County has a celebrated long-standing, strategic plan to connect local trails into a coherent regional network. In addition to the development of the County Trail Master Plan, Oakland County Planning currently assists local communities and trail groups with completing grant applications, public input workshops and surveys, trail concept design and mapping. In addition, Oakland County provides training to trail managers via partnerships with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to provide American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Bike Facility Design Training and Walkability Reviews to ensure quality trails across the County. This is a critical program and initiative of the County’s that should continue to be funded to support further trail development and enhancements.
To complement these efforts, the County should also, through the same Planning program, offer guidance, training, and resources for municipalities to develop cohesive, multilingual, and unified wayfinding and signage across various trails. This may include designing a branded wayfinding system, publishing a countywide trail signage design guidelines/spec toolkit, services to translate signage across languages, use standardized icons when possible, and sponsorships for implementation of co-branded signage.
| Level of Effort | Phasing |
|---|---|
| Medium | Future |
The Intertwine Alliance
Why is this important?
The Destination Diagnostic identified that the County’s Great Outdoors experiences are currently disjointed - not simply due to gaps in the trail network but also a lack of a unified wayfinding language/system across trails. In particular, this impacts new users who are unsure of where a trail leads and visitors who may be less familiar with the area.
In order to remove psychological barriers and encourage trail use to get more people to go to and from outdoor recreation, agriculture assets, and other towns and destinations, stakeholders acknowledged an untapped opportunity in the use of the County’s extensive trail networks (Rail to Trail networks). In particular, stakeholders also shared a need for accessible signage that leverage universally understood icons and concise keywords to minimize language barriers across trails and therefore support diversification of users of the County’s trail network.
Case Study: The Intertwine Alliance (Greater Portland, OR)
The Intertwine Alliance, a regional coalition in the Portland-Vancouver region, worked in partnership with the Portland–Vancouver regional government (Metro) and local municipalities, to convene a working group of around 20 representatives to commission a local design firm to develop the Intertwine Regional Trails Signage Guidelines.
The regional trail signage guidelines were intended to address a key issue of inconsistent signage across jurisdictions that appeared confusing to users
given varying styles, tone/language, and information. As such, the Intertwine Regional Trails Signage Guidelines established: Brand identity elements (layout, color palette, fonts, symbols, and logo treatment), Hierarchy of information and messages (Directional and distance), Map styles, and recommendations for local brand integration.