Joe Louis Greenway Tour - March 2025

With support from UTSC, IIESL organized a two-day study tour to Detroit for seven Scarborough community leaders to learn from the Joe Louis Greenway (JLG) project. JLG has 29 miles of bike and pedestrian loops, which connect 23 Detroit neighbourhoods. Throughout the trails, there is access to bike paths, green spaces, and parks, as well as businesses and housing. The City of Detroit hosted presentations and site visits that showcased approaches to inclusive planning, business engagement, governance, fundraising, and implementation. The City of Detroit was awarded the 2025 National Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association (APA) for the Joe Louis Greenway Neighbourhood Planning Study. JLG has received recognition for its approach to inclusive planning and shares similarities to the Scarborough suburban geography.