Each week Downtown Digest brings you an article summary from Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter. This year, they’ve covered everything from business recruitment and retention, to streetscape improvements, to placemaking, and more. To wrap up 2025, we invite you to read any of the summaries you may have missed and to subscribe to Downtown Idea Exchange newsletter for 2026. Each month, you’ll…Continue reading

 

For nearly four decades, the Main Street Fort Worth Arts Festival has transformed downtown Fort Worth, TX, into an open-air cultural destination. The four-day celebration draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, blending art, food, and live entertainment across 18 city blocks. From its 38-year history, Downtown Fort Worth Inc. shares important lessons learned from a…Continue reading

 

In Hayward, CA, a grant program has been helping local restaurants go viral. Known as Hashtag Hayward, the program combines placemaking with content creation by social media pros. The program provided grants of up to $10,000 apiece to small businesses. The money was targeted primarily toward interior and exterior improvements that inspired customers to share…Continue reading

 

Since American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010, the campaign has grown to have a multi-billion-dollar annual impact on independent retailers nationwide. The event, celebrated on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, provides an opportunity for downtown leaders to foster community engagement, and for independent businesses to shine. Small Business Saturday events typically feature festive…Continue reading

 

An information rich website is helping the Downtown Denver Partnership draw new tenants to the city center and freeing staff time. The website serves up market information and demographic dashboards that present critical data in an easy-to-read format. The site also provides up-to-date information about available spaces, including square footage and broker contacts. The site…Continue reading

 

This fall, Redmond, WA, celebrated the completion of the final phase of the Redmond Central Connector trail, which connects downtown Redmond with Eastrail, the Eastside’s longest walking and biking corridor. From 1889 to 2008, a railroad ran through the heart of Redmond, connecting the city to the wider region, but also creating a barrier through…Continue reading