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Each month, Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter provide in-depth news, information and ideas on how to rebuild the hearts of our cities.

But we often have valuable background material, additional information, or related resources that we just can’t fit in the newsletters. Listed below are a wide range of documents that add further insight and understanding to the articles in Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter.

These documents may be viewed and printed with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. You may download a free copy by clicking on the yellow icon.

Learn more about Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter.

May 1, 2008

How can downtowns and their retailers best prepare for the economic slowdown? According to the latest five-year retail trends assessment by the downtown consulting firm DANTH Inc., CBD retailing is entering into a period of stress, which will likely be especially acute for districts catering to middle-income consumers. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Plan for traffic management at downtown events In this article, Walter Dunn president of Dunn Engineering Associates P.C., identifies four keys to traffic planning for downtown events. These are taken from a handbook he wrote on special event traffic management for the Federal Highway Administration, Managing Travel for Planned Special Events. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

April 15, 2008

In strategically planning for future, downtown eyes expansion. “A shifting regional economy, growing county population, and changing demographics have transformed the traditionally central role of downtown Noblesville, IN (pop. 28,590). These factors challenged Noblesville to redefine the role of downtown and engage the growing population. Noblesville rose to the challenge by producing the Downtown Noblesville Strategic Development Plan. Introduced last year, the plan serves as a guide to smart incremental change that respects the community’s history and enhances its assets. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

April 1, 2008

Having made good physical improvements, downtown must now talk up its buzz. “Downtown Ypsilanti and the DDA have spent a lot of time and money over the past several years investing in the physical infrastructure and improving the physical look of downtown. Now the consultants are saying, ‘You’ve built a great foundation. Let’s start letting everybody know about downtown — that it’s fantastic businesses combined with fantastic residential lofts and apartments, and a great-looking downtown,’” says Brian Vosburg, director of the Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority. Read about how downtown should position itself, according to its strategic plan for the next five years. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

Promote reforms for aging. To help cities make the most of an ever growing older population, the World Health Organization last year released the Global Age-friendly Cities Guide on October 1, International Day of Older Persons. Downtowns can use this day and this guide to promote awareness of what needs to be done to make downtown more accommodating for aging and elderly users. View the age-friendly guide and checklist. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

Does downtown have a workable business plan? Downtown is as much a business as any it is home to, and so must plan like one. For example, the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association, in San Luis Obispo, CA (pop. 44,170), recently updated its San Luis Obispo Downtown Strategic Business Plan. As its name implies, the plan is focused on planning for the economic future of downtown, not the district’s overall future. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

March 15, 2008

Greener technology can improve downtown’s bottom line and safety Smaller downtowns that are taking pioneering steps to convert their pedestrian lighting to LED technology include Ann Arbor, MI (pop. 114,000). After successfully piloting LED globe lights on a full block downtown, Ann Arbor is going ahead with full conversion of over 1,000 of its downtown streetlights over the next two years. The city expects a short payback of 3.8 years on its investment.

Read Ann Arbor’s LED Streetlight Program summary and a white paper on LED technology applications prepared by greenTbiz, a Program of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.

March 1, 2008

How to handle taking out trash and recyclables without creating eyesores? For answers, Downtown Idea Exchange turned to an expert on this issue, Blair Pollock, solid waste planner, Orange County Solid Waste Management Department in North Carolina. Here’s a letter that his department uses to reinforce its service relationships with recycling program participants. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Understand how volunteers and volunteerism is changing. Recruiting new volunteers is “a lot like fund-raising,”says Stephanie Redman, president of TBD Consulting. “The number-one secret to volunteer recruitment is asking. But beyond that, you’ve got to have a well-defined set of tasks that you want the volunteer to do for you. Be very strategic,” she says. As an excellent example of volunteer recruiting and management, New Jersey’s Main Street Mount Holly posts at its website this Volunteer Sign Up Request Form and Volunteer Work Plan. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

February 15, 2008

Pioneering use of technology sheds light on the power of volunteers: Google is currently in the process of developing Web pages that highlight the benefits of downtowns to create a 3D virtual model. In this paper, Chris Wilson, director of Main Street McMinnville, TN, encapsulates the benefits and possible uses of such a model to any downtown.

A related program that Google is running in the Northeast is called “Visualize your community in 3D”. For this pilot initiative, Google hired a company (Green Mountain Graphics) to help downtowns organize a volunteer group and then offer free training with SketchUp and Google Earth. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

February 1, 2008

Downtown markets evenly to close-by and distant people: In large part, downtown Hays, KS (pop. 20,010), has turned the corner from decades of decline by focusing evenly on its two key markets: in-county and out-of-county residents.

Tools that the city uses to do that include billboard and cooperative print advertising, a coupon sheet offered to downtown visitors, a window cling given to downtown Hays contributors and all downtown businesses, and a document detailing downtown graphics standards. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

A previous billboard downtown Hays has had up on I-70.

A starting concept for a new downtown Hays billboard in development.

Design concept for a two- or three-sided panel billboard to potentially be placed at a Wal-Mart store, whose manager is on the downtown board of directors.

The back side of a coupon page Hays offers to downtown visitors.

A window cling Hays provides to downtown contributors and to all downtown businesses.

Rough draft of a document for downtown graphics standards. Recently, the Chestnut Street District logo was registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The city worked with a legal firm to finalize this.

 

Master plan positions downtown to get the growth it wants: During the last ten years or so, Colorado County has experienced rampant three-percent growth per year, but downtown Pagosa Springs, CO (pop. 1,590), has not been a prominent beneficiary of that. To correct a growth pattern biased against downtown, the town worked with a privately-funded 2004 study on strengthening downtown as the foundation for the Downtown Master Plan for Pagosa Springs it has now passed. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Looking Ahead to August: Sisters get a day of their own: Sister’s Day celebrates being or having a sister. It’s the perfect time to host a girls night out or sisters weekend downtown. To learn more about Sisters Weekend and other girl-power events, read this article from a past issue of Downtown Promotion Reporter. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

January 15, 2008

How a shuttered movie theater became an active wedding hall: A risky move by the City of Hays, KS (pop. 20,010), putting a closed movie house it had acquired up for public auction, paid off. Built for its original purpose in 1950 and renovated and remodeled in 2006 for more than $500,000, the 400-capacity Fox Pavilion celebrated its one-year anniversary as a special event venue last October. The restored Fox once again serves as an important anchor for downtown, in its second life as a popular venue for weddings and other gatherings. Read more about the story behind this wonderful adaptive reuse in the following articles. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Fox Grand Opening

Fox Pavilion Earns Statewide Recognition

Hays Daily News - Fox Award

Remodeled Movie Palace

2007 Emerging Business of the Year

January 1, 2008

What are the top global trends affecting downtowns? and Big trends will affect your DT marketing: Do global trends have local relevance to downtown development and marketing? Absolutely, say the team at Progressive Urban Management Associates (P.U.M.A.). Their recently updated global trends analysis, Top 10 Global Trends Affecting Downtowns and How to Respond at Home, looks at trends which affect downtowns and suggests conclusions and implications for downtown planning, development, and marketing decision makers. In our sister publications, Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter, we simultaneously focus on select trends discussed in the report through the prism of downtown development and improvement and downtown marketing and promotion, respectively. (Downtown Idea Exchange and Downtown Promotion Reporter)

Green-minded DT merchants team up for Shop Green campaign: In a Shop Green campaign, launched on Black Friday 2007, like-minded businesses in downtown Ithaca, NY (pop. 29,290), came up with the Shop Green Passport as a promotional idea that could extend throughout the holiday season. The passport includes a map of the Shop Green businesses. See downtown Ithaca’s Shop Green Passport and map here. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

December 15, 2007

Building political will is vital to a downtown’s residential development: Support by third parties perceived as neutral to a developer’s bottom line can be vital in galvanizing political will for downtown’s development. A good case in point is a recent rezoning of a blighted area behind downtown Boonton, NJ (pop. 8,500), from Industrial to High-Density Residential. The rezoning was necessary to enable a proposed residential redevelopment of the site as a 148-unit apartment complex. Here are documents that Boonton Main Street distributed in support of the controversial rezoning.

Boonton Main Street statement endorsing a rezoning of an industrial area for residential redevelopment.

A Q&A fact sheet distributed by Boonton Main Street addressing common concerns about the proposed residential redevelopment.

A letter from Boonton Main Street presenting the town’s Board of Aldermen with 35 signatures of downtown merchants and business owners in support of the BMS trustees’ supportive stance toward the zoning change.

A letter from Boonton Main Street to the town’s Board of Aldermen, essentially advocating for the inclusion of a formal community benefits agreement process in negotiations with the proposed developer. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Ongoing challenges and areas for improvement require new approaches: Very rarely will any downtown face entirely new or unique challenges. Most challenges are common and familiar, but they also tend to change and often grow over time. Therefore, ongoing challenges for downtowns will periodically require new thinking and approaches, and often renewed commitments. For some good examples of how a downtown is addressing its ongoing challenges, see the City of Kirkland Downtown Strategic Plan Strategic Situation Assessment. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

December 1, 2007

Strategic plan update process finds areas of agreement, assesses new challenges: As downtown’s conditions on the ground change, it must adjust its strategies. For example, the City of Kirkland, WA (pop. 45,050), is conducting an assessment and update of its 2001 Downtown Kirkland Strategic Plan. A 16-member Downtown Advisory Committee was appointed to facilitate the public process and advise city council in this endeavor. The committee recently completed Phase I, the Strategic Situation Assessment, and reported its findings. It’s a good case study in refining downtown strategy. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Spread the wealth of downtown’s business savvy: To help downtown businesses help themselves, the city of Franklin, PA (pop. 7,200), recently began hosting instructional classes for downtown businesspeople and their employees on marketing and customer service topics. With the networking and communication that the classes bring, Franklin hopes to see its downtown businesses cooperate in new ways. For example, downtown could standardize extended store hours on Thursday and Friday evenings, so that stores benefit from foot trafic driven by the strong restaurants and active theater. See two examples of how Franklin pitches its workshops to potential attendees here. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

BID has strong criteria for event funds: The Durango, CO (pop. 13,920), Business Improvement District has developed this comprehensive list of criteria that an event must meet before the BID supports it. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

November 15, 2007

What exactly is a ‘downtown’?: Years ago, the answer to this question was relatively simple: It’s the center of town where all the tall buildings are, and the place to shop, writes David Feehan of the International Downtown Association (IDA). During the past decade or two, that definition has become dated and inadequate — but what should replace it?

Formulating and adopting what now is called the IDA Charter was only the first step in what IDA hopes will be an ongoing, lively conversation among those who “live, work, shop, and play” in downtowns, business districts, and town centers. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

November 1, 2007

Smart cards could be the new Swiss Army Knife for downtown commerce: For over a year, a city-sponsored smart card has served a couple of important purposes for downtown New Haven, CT (pop. 123,600). Developed and managed by Parcxmart Technologies, the New Haven city card is currently accepted as a debit card at 34 stores and restaurants (the majority of which are downtown), and provides a convenient means of paying for metered parking (as well as city parking tickets). Here’s a data sheet explaining how the technology can benefit downtowns. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Key questions to ask in assessing events: To ensure that your events are doing as much good for downtown as they’re supposed to, Elizabeth Ann Nicols, executive director, Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21, Milwaukee, WI (pop 597,000), recommends asking five key questions with each event downtown does. View her presentation on those assessment questions, with examples of how they are answered for particular events, here. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

October 15, 2007

Parking study brings clarity and reason to highly politically charged issue: In response to a stalemated parking debate confronting downtown development, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, Ann Arbor, MI (pop. 114,000), commissioned this comprehensive downtown parking study by Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates. Read a summary and complete chapter of its recommendations.

Also, from Ann Arbor’s presentation at the 2007 annual conference of the International Downtown Association, here are key questions to ask before sending out an RFP or RFQ for a downtown parking study. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

Comprehensive plan update lays out downtown objectives and strategies: The Town of Rocky Mount, VA (pop. 4,070), recently adopted an update of its comprehensive plan, which directs town leaders on how to build on downtown momentum. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

October 1, 2007

Downtown becomes “Uptown” to reflect transformation to a “whole new place”: Last November, the town council of Normal, IL (pop. 45,390), voted to officially change the name of the newly improved downtown to “Uptown.” With a name like Normal, one might expect marketers to get carried away with puns. Actually, Uptown’s tagline is subtle as a pun yet sharp and meaningful: “Changing the definition!”

The tagline also “works in conjunction with the secondary taglines that reference the individual activities in the Uptown,” states the Normal Branding Program Manual of Graphic Standards by Cardosi Kiper Design Group. For example, Uptown restaurants can post on their menus, storefronts, and marketing collateral a version of the logo that says “Dining is Normal,” with a graphic fork and knife inside the “O” roundel of the upper-case Normal logo.

Similar templates were designed for shopping, bicycling, excitement, education, and transportation. Businesses that make use of the brand are asked to adhere to very specific branding standards, detailed in this 16-page manual. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Art and sports history converge in downtown attractions: Art of the Game is a two-year public art project celebrating the long and rich baseball history of Pittsfield, MA (pop. 45,790), through the creativity of local artists. This Public Art Walking Tour brochure and guide was produced by the city to maximize the benefit of the baseball-themed, three-dimensional art installations. The brochure explains the vision behind the project and features a map showing the locations of 49 pieces it describes. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Grand old bank in disrepair? If you rehab it, they will come: In 1998, the city of Albert Lea, MN (pop. 18,360), purchased the Freeborn Bank and Jacobsen buildings, vacant since 1990, to save them from the wrecking ball. Recently, the city invested about $1.8 million in the exterior restoration of these two cornerstone buildings, distinguished by architectural features like 14-foot ceilings and brick and glazed terra-cotta and green-marble exteriors.

Completed in June, Albert Lea’s exterior building rehabilitation makes the two interconnected buildings more readily viable for new uses and tenants. View an RFP for redevelopment of downtown Albert Lea’s Freeborn Bank Building here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

September 15, 2007

Improve links to highways to upgrade access, economic development potential: A city that expects to catalyze new investment and development downtown through a major improvement to its highway access is Manchester, NH (pop. 107,000). When a key traffic improvement project is completed next fall, downtown will have a full highway interchange so that motorists can either get on or off the highway near the downtown exit, going both north and south. Learn more about the project here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

September 1, 2007

Mystery shopping helps provide for better service and sales downtown: “By setting up a mystery shopper program, you can learn more about how your customers are treated in just one week than you have learned since your businesses opened,” says Liza Cirlot Looser, CEO of The Cirlot Agency, a corporate communications firm. Tools used for mystery shopping assessments can range from simple questionnaires to complete audio and video recordings. Merchants can then utilize the results of the mystery shopping program for employee improvement and management initiatives. Click here to view a sample mystery shopper form. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Parking project evolves to strategically catalyze more feet on the street: As the Longmont Downtown Development Authority worked with the City of Longmont, CO (pop. 71,090), on developing a parking structure, downtown leaders realized that this investment was an opportunity to catalyze bigger and better things if they played their cards right.

View a letter explaining the evolution of the mixed-use parking garage project here.

View a study into scenarios of how the project could take shape here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

August 15, 2007

Rent assistance programs can stabilize new businesses during start-up: In order to stimulate reinvestment in downtown Rocky Mount, NC (pop. 55,890), the city offers three partnership opportunities with downtown property owners and leasees: a facade improvement grant, a major impact grant, and a rental assistance grant, available for new businesses locating along its main street, in a defined area between two cross streets. Learn more about each of those business incentive programs here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

August 1, 2007

Ads and PR attract businesses downtown: Click here to view all five ads of Downtown Albany (NY, pop. 95,660) Business Improvement District’s “Only Downtown Albany” campaign that spotlights the quality of life and ease of doing business benefits that are unique to downtown. Click here to view the statistical impact of this campaign’s launch as measured in website hits. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Linking a park to parking in downtown: The new Nashville Public Square hosts a farmer’s market each Thursday. A third of its acreage sits above a subterranean, green-roof parking garage. View images of the Nashville Public Square with and without an event under way here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Downtown proposes mitigation measures to offset negative development impacts: The Ellensburg Downtown Association, Ellensburg,WA (pop. 15,410), has developed a list of recommended measures to help offset the potentially damaging impact that proposed new regional retail development on the outskirts of town may have on downtown. Click here to view an economic development fund ordinance that gave the Ellensburg Downtown Association one of its proposal ideas. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

July 15, 2007

Crystal City, a mixed-use office center in Arlington, VA (pop. 189,500), is undergoing an intensive redevelopment planning process aimed at transforming it from an office area to a vibrant and economically diversified downtown. Here’s a document with illustrations of the preliminary concept for Crystal City’s long-range planning. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

July 1, 2007

The City of Everett, WA (pop. 101,100), sided with the “on-street parking should be free“ school of thought when it removed parking meters from downtown in the early 1970s. Now it’s looking at putting them (or something like them) back.

So the city issued an RFQ for the Everett Downtown CBD Pay Parking Management Study, to investigate the potential implementation of a “pay to park” management plan in downtown.

Click here to view the RFQ for the Everett Downtown CBD Pay Parking Management Study. Also of note is this CBD “Pay to Park” Parking Management Study — Draft Scope of Work Outline. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Downtown Highland, MI (pop. 19,170), is gaining momentum thanks in part to marketing efforts of the Highland Downtown Development Authority. For instance, an active equestrian conservancy in town introduced a tour of barns in and around town in 2005.

This flyer shows how that horsey event has come to be leveraged by the DDA into a broad downtown event. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

June 15, 2007

As a means of transportation, the bus is finding new respect and favor among downtown advocates under the sexy moniker of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). For example, BRT was recently evaluated along with commuter rail between the Oklahoma downtowns of Tulsa (pop. 393,100) and Broken Arrow (about 90,000). Click here to read the Broken Arrow/Tulsa Mass Transit Feasibility Study Executive Summary, which evaluates the potential for BRT service between two downtowns. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

To keep late-night downtown disturbances to a minimum, the City of Nanaimo, British Columbia (pop. 78,690), maintains Good Neighbor Agreements with all 45 to 50 liquor license holders. The four-page Good Neighbor Agreement lays out standards that such hospitality businesses are expected to uphold, and is signed by the mayor, the chief of police, and each bar owner. Click here to view a sample Good Neighbor Agreement. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

June 1, 2007

Can sewers play a role in revitalizing downtown? Highland Station, the downtown area of Highland, MI, built around the railroad, is “picking up steam” with its first new building in 20 years and a first-ever sewer system on tap. Read more about Highland Station and its downtown development authority’s work in a DDA newsletter here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Statewide poll asks “Why do people come downtown?” Downtown development groups stand to benefit from conducting survey research to better understand who’s coming downtown and why. Here are the questions and results of a poll conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute that asked adult residents of New Jersey to say what they like. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

May 15, 2007

Confluence of factors leads to development of new market-rate housing: A market-rate residential development trend is taking root in downtown Everett, WA (pop. 91,490), and it’s no coincidence that less than a year ago, Everett completed a new downtown plan with revised design standards and zoning regulations. “Quite a few things were added to the plan and the code, but I think the design measures were the most significant,” says Allan Giffen, planning director, City of Everett. “We went to a floor area ratio system and provided for bonuses where if you add certain design measures that improve the building, you can get greater floor area ratio (FAR) or building heights. That, I think, has got a lot of people’s attention. Before, the sky was the limit, and people had unrealistic expectations of what their property values were.”

Click here to view Everett’s Downtown Plan and here to view a draft of its Core Residential Design Standards. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

May 1, 2007

Feasibility study looks at transit link between two downtowns: A preliminary feasibility study into new mass transit service commissioned by Oklahoma’s Tulsa Transit finds that both bus rapid transit (BRT) and commuter rail are viable options to connect the downtowns of Tulsa (pop. 393,100) and Broken Arrow (about 90,000). Find public information materials and the results of a survey about a mass transit system between the downtowns here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

How maturing trees led to rethinking a small downtown: A downtown vision and strategic plan was adopted by the city council of Durango, CO (pop. 13,920), in December 2005 and is being implemented little by little. Recently, city staff, the downtown business improvement district, and the Downtown Durango Partnership, a group of business and property owners, briefed the public on progress they’ve made in implementing the plan, and discussed what’s next. Read the Downtown Durango Vision and Strategic Plan here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Small town thinks and acts big when it comes to attracting people downtown: Self-described in its regional tourism brochure as “earning its reputation as a warm, friendly town with big-city vision,” downtown Franklin, PA (pop. 7,210), thinks especially big when it comes to marketing and promotion. Here’s the Destination Franklin: Always Eventful brochure, used to promote downtown throughout the region. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Post-event surveys a useful tool to assess event success: Maintaining "a good mixture of old and new" keeps the 25-year-old Dickens of a Christmas festival attractive to Yuletide shoppers and diners in downtown Roanoke, VA (pop. 94,910). Click here to view an ad and map distributed in The Roanoke Times a week before the event, which shows where to find new features and old favorites. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

April 15, 2007

Reviving downtown through live-work redevelopment for creative class: This is a first-year progress report of the Near Westside Initiative in downtown Syracuse, NY. Of particular interest are the sections on strategy on pages 4 and 5, progress to date on page 5, and the challenges that this revitalization attempt faces on page 2. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Master plan to transform growing downtown through variety in uses, density: The public’s participation in the planning process is what will make this new master plan for downtown Bradenton, FL relevant and doable. Read Downtown by Design: The Bradenton Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) Master Plan here. (PDF, 52MB) (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

April 1, 2007

More practical, enforceable ordinance in works for surface parking lot regulation: One of the goals that the Sacramento, CA, Parking Master Plan lays out is to improve regulation of surface parking lots. Instead of citing and shutting down all non-compliant lots, and risking the loss of perhaps 1,000 spaces from downtown’s parking supply, the city is opting for a measured approach and a new policy tailored to this situation. See materials from a public meeting about temporary surface parking lots here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Downtown partners align to make the news with economic development: What will most empower downtown Syracuse, NY, to accomplish its mission for an ambitious residential development initiative will be the ability of the program partners to tell a newsworthy story. Here’s a document prepared by that program’s coordinator at Syracuse University, which helps explain to the media what’s been achieved so far. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

March 15, 2007

The primary objective of downtown Sacramento, CA’s Parking Master Plan is to ensure that there will be sufficient parking for the city to achieve its economic and infill development goals. A secondary objective of the plan is to ensure that downtown’s parking supply and rates support wider use of transit and other modes of transportation, as well as reasonable air quality as downtown grows.
View Sacramento’s Central City Parking Master Plan, Final Report here.
View the Parking Master Plan Summary Report here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

March 1, 2007

A policy of planning for town centers: In the United Kingdom, the government’s key objective for town centers is to promote their vitality and viability by planning for the growth and development of existing centers.
View Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres here.
View the related guidance, Planning for Town Centres: Guidance on Design and Implementation tools here. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

Chamber uses survey results to inform marketing strategy: Downtowns seeking to develop more effective marketing plans would do well to work with local resources to gather better market intelligence, the executive director of the Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce, Lanesboro, MN, advises.
Here’s a product of good market intelligence, the Lanesboro Area Chamber 2007 Work Plan.
Here are public discussion notes from a presentation of that market research about downtown Lanesboro. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

February 15, 2007

Downtown Mandan, ND (pop. 16,720), has had an Architectural Review Commission for some 30 years, but only recently gave it serious teeth. To preserve this threatened downtown’s architectural character and keep new development in harmony with the past, Mandan adopted Architectural Review Commission standards for building design and construction in the downtown core, downtown fringe districts, and gateway entrances to the city. Click here to see how the Mandan Architectural Review Commission successfully presented its building and community design standards to the public. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

In downtown Madison, WI (pop. 208,100), where a large university puts downtown parking in short supply during business hours most of the year, a new Parking Ramp Shuttle Service is offering free rides between downtown and campus parking ramps for drivers who pay for parking at any of these ramps. Two shuttle routes serve downtown daytime workers during rush hours and the university during midday. Click here to download a PDF of the route maps and schedule. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

February 1, 2007

Insights into a Lively Downtown video — Short movies are an ideal media format to show people downtown. Here’s a video that downtowns could look to for inspiration. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

 

Recent presentations related to retail recruitment from MapInfo Corporation, a demographic information service provider, and MJB Consulting (Downtown Idea Exchange)
Bringing Retail into Neighborhoods and Urban America
Attracting and Retaining Retail in Urban Markets

December 1, 2006

“Small town thinks big with a wide range of promo programs” (p.4) — Mari Eosco, outgoing coordinator, Main Street Bath, describes this map and brochure as the “single best marketing tool” for downtown Bath, ME (pop. 9,270). (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

November 15, 2006

“Downtown uncovers creek as both a natural and economic asset” (p.1) — The downtown area of Caldwell, ID (pop. 38,030), has been gradually deteriorating over the past 40 years, as businesses have relocated to nearby Boise regional shopping areas and business districts. The city has decided that the best way to revitalize the downtown area is to offer a different kind of shopping and living experience. To that end, the city is working to uncover and relocate a creek that runs through the downtown areas as a covered channel.

The relocated Indian Creek would run through a new greenbelt designed by the Army Corps of Engineers and will be constructed by the City’s Urban Renewal Agency. The city’s vision is to create a new retail/municipal/housing and cultural center in this area, with rehabilitated habitat on either side of the creek, including pedestrian and bicycle paths. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

 

November 1, 2006

“Construction guide gives downtown businesses survival tips” (p.10) — Downtown Skowhegan, ME, needed to replace and upgrade its antiquated, century-old sewer and water lines this year. To help keep business strong during this project, the year-old Main Street Skowhegan Organization created this Construction Guide to inform business owners and their customers about the short- and long-term effects that the capital improvement projects would have on downtown. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

September 15, 2006

“Transfer development rights to grow in all the right places” (p.1) — The transfer of development rights (TDR) is a multifaceted tool to strengthen downtown physically and economically, and to steer density to where it’s specifically desired. But developers and property owners must understand exactly how a TDR program works if they are to be expected to take advantage of it. So the City of West Palm Beach, FL (pop. 101,000) sends this 25-page information packet to developers and owners of historic properties who are interested in its downtown-only TDR program. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

September 1, 2006

“‘Big box’ stores and downtowns: Why can’t we be friends?” (p.1) — Why can’t so-called “big box” stores, often maligned as a generator of sprawl and a significant threat to the viability of downtown retail, be successfully co-opted or incorporated into downtowns as anchor stores? Maybe downtowns need to share the vision of how they could make such partnerships work for all. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

August 15, 2006

“Public parking management at its best keeps district health in mind” (p.3) — In the long run, managing downtown parking with downtown’s overall health in mind pays off. This is exemplified in downtown Boulder, CO (pop. 94,670), where innovative parking management since the 1970s led the city’s Downtown and University Hill Management Division/Parking Services to win the 2006 Award for Excellence in Innovation in Parking Operations and Programs from the International Parking Institute. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

August 1, 2006

“Small downtown marketing focuses on intimacy and charm of public space” (p. 1) — To spread the word about its hopping downtown anchored by an active park, the Plymouth (MI, pop. 9,020) Downtown Development Authority developed this new promotional magazine, long on photographs emphasizing downtown’s cafe culture around the park perimeter. Advertorials convey a bit of downtown’s personality by telling the stories of some of its entrepreneurs. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

July 15, 2006

“Design guidelines work outdoor dining comfortably into historic district” (p. 1) — To encourage outdoor dining, towns and cities should invest in efficient permitting through design guidelines that work well for the restaurants, neighboring residents and businesses, pedestrians, and diners alike. Here’s an excellent example of that from the City of Alexandria, VA (pop. 128,300). (Downtown Idea Exchange)

June 15, 2006

“Benchmarking provides context to understand trends, differences” (p. 4) — The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’s twice-yearly performance study is an attempt to monitor the economic health and vitality of the downtown area. Other Michigan communities are also collecting data from their downtowns; comparing this data with Ann Arbor’s can provide a context for understanding trends and differences. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

June 1, 2006

“What works, what could be improved in downtown walkability” (p. 4) — A new pedestrian districts study by the San Francisco Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission analyzes 10 models of pedestrian districts. What they praise as well as find fault with could inform better pedestrian planning in downtowns across North America. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

May 1, 2006

“Safety kit advises downtowners on how to partner in their own security” (p. 10) — Here are two examples of pamphlets that all downtown businesses receive from the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership to educate them on safe policies and procedures. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

April 1, 2006

“Attracting sponsorship is about selling and bartering the value of downtown event buzz” (p. 1) — Here’s a sample sponsorship operating agreement contract between an event producer and media sponsor. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)

March 15, 2006

“Make grander entrance corridors to downtown via design guidelines” (p. 1) — Here are entrance corridor guideline documents from two towns quoted in our March 15, 2006 article. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

February 15, 2006

“Building up higher in downtown? Make sure that quality of life doesn’t suffer” (p. 1) — These documents excerpt and summarize parts of a recently enacted zoning ordinance amendment by the City of Morgantown, WV (pop. 26,810), that pertain specifically to its downtown. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

January 15, 2006

“How downtowns can partner with landlords to market their spaces” (p. 1) — These documents can be used as tools for downtown to fulfill their retail destinies. A property information questionnaire enables downtown to serve as the central source of basic information concerning its retail properties. A retail space marketing agreement legally formalizes cooperation between downtown and the owner of a retail property. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

December 1, 2005

“Ordinance excludes troublemakers for periods of time from downtown” (p. 1) — These new ordinances allow arresting officers to issue “exclusion notices” to people who make trouble in downtown McMinnville, OR (pop. 26,500). The greater the infraction of bad behavior, the greater the time out from downtown. Here’s the full text of the city’s relevant ordinances. (Downtown Idea Exchange)

“Public education can work hand in hand with visioning and community ownership” (p. 1) — Before involving the community in a visioning process about what downtown should be, Sierra Madre, CA (pop. 10,580) worked to educate the public about downtown. Here are various posters, hand-outs, and postcards that the city used to get the word out and engage the public in the downtown visioning process. (Downtown Promotion Reporter)