Detroit — A team that includes one of France's top landscape architecture and urban design firms, along with five other members with plenty of Detroit experience, has won an international competition to reshape the city’s cultural center. 

Its plan, called “Detroit Square,” suggests radically changing 10 blocks around 12 cultural and educational institutions.

Among the recommendations: Consider shrinking the number of traffic lanes on Woodward Avenue between the Detroit Institute of Arts and the main Detroit Public Library, add plenty of walkable green space and outdoor performance venues, build several outdoor cafés, convert an underground garage into a cutting-edge gallery, and lay the groundwork for a tech-savvy future. 

And that isn’t the half of what the winning team suggests. 

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