Marquette is surrounded by natural beauty with Lake Superior and forested highlands with rocky peaks enveloping the city. But as a developed area, that anticipates future population increases, there is a constant tension between growth and preservation of the natural landscape that attracts many people to the area. Moreover, as climate change accelerates, Marquette may become home to climate refugees, and at the same time, lose some of its cultural heritage that has been so reliant on cold, snowy winters. This is a city in flux making it an opportune time to plan.

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Coastal resiliency plays a big role in this plan. As a beloved asset and 10% of the fresh water on Earth, residents placed protecting Lake Superior's water quality as a priority. The Master Plan includes research and conceptual designs from Northern Michigan University (NMU) and other regional partners to develop a coastal framework based on scenario planning. As a tie-in with recreation, resiliency, and cultural preservation, the plan has a Recreation Corridor along the shoreline to protect the land, water, and trails.

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Marquette’s Master Plan is structured in two pieces: the “Vision for Marquette” and the supporting documentation. The Vision for Marquette is a 44 page document that includes the overarching guiding principles, the future land use plan, the zoning plan, and the action plan to guide the next five years. While this plan projects a decade or more into the future, the actions are structured to be short-term objectives so they can be easily tracked and revised as needed. The supporting documentation shows in greater detail the data used to arrive at the plan's strategies. Since NMU completed its campus plan in 2019, the two entities can now collaborate on mutually-beneficial projects.

Marquette Master Plan

Marquette, Michigan​

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Click here to view the City of Marquette Master Plan

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Click here to view the City of Marquette Master Plan Supplemental Report