Press Releases

Downtown can learn big lessons from small, medium, and big cities

(Boonton, NJ, September 13, 2005) — The experience of the years proves that all downtowns can learn a lot from other downtowns’ successes and failures. It is also important to remember specifically that bigger cities can learn from smaller ones, while smaller downtowns can learn from the larger.

Commenting in the Perspectives Column in the August 15 issue of “Downtown Idea Exchange” newsletter, Laurence Alexander, founder of the Downtown Research & Development Center, notes that it is wrong to think, for example that Big City X had a great idea for parking but we can’t do it here. Or to say Small Town Y did a solid job of tenant recruitment but we’re too big for that technique. Ideas, specific techniques, or even small parts of big ideas in many cases can be freely and successfully tailored to fit local circumstance.

Ideas should not be rejected just because they originated in a larger urban place or in a smaller town. They may be great if adjusted, modified, scaled up, or shrunk down as required. “If there is a germ of a good thing, it’s worth serious consideration.”

The full text of the commentary is available at http://www.downtowndevelopment.com/perspectives.php.

Downtown Idea Exchange is a twice-monthly newsletter reporting on downtown problems and solutions in an effort to provide a focus for revitalizing the central business districts of towns and cities.

Website: http://www.DowntownDevelopment.com