Cityscape Detroit, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) volunteer organization whose members share a concern for the development of Detroit's built environment. It is Cityscape's mission to be the voice for all Detroiters who believe in developing Detroit as a dynamic and livable city. To achieve this mission, Cityscape advocates for quality urban design, responsible community-based planning, effective economic development strategies, and the preservation and reuse of Detroit's historic resources.

Cityscape Detroit, founded in 1980, evolved from the People for Downtown Hudson's, a group whose initial purpose was to explore workable alternatives for the building which formerly housed the flagship store of the J.L. Hudson Co. It is a membership organization led by a nine member board of directors. Board members typically represent the fields of city planning, historic preservation, real estate development, architecture, community development, finance, education, marketing, and small business.

From 1980 until 1998, Cityscape Detroit coordinated Preservation Week in Detroit, held in mid-May each year. Preservation Week is a series of events -- tours, lectures and other historic preservation-related activities -- sponsored by various organizations and neighborhoods in the city. In 1999 Cityscape passed responsibility for Preservation Week to Preservation Wayne, Detroit's leading historic preservation organization, so that Cityscape could focus more attention on the other issue areas in its mission statement: urban design, planning, and economic development.

Cityscape provides a regular forum for discussion of urban design, planning, development and historic preservation, including lectures, panel discussions, tours, a quarterly newsletter, and position papers. In the past Cityscape has provided constructive commentary on projects such as the Detroit People Mover, Riverfront West residential development, the General Motors Poletown Plant, the Brush Park development plan, the demolition of the historic Chene House, the proposal to replace Ford Auditorium with a high rise office building, and plans for the Detroit Tigers' Comerica Park.

Future initiatives include an interactive in-school program to educate children about the built environment and their ability to shape their world, and programs to educate key public and private decision makers about the economic and social benefits of good planning, design, and development practices.