Downtown Idea Exchange

Placemaking grants drive activity Little Alley Shows brought live music to a long-forgotten space behind the Wolf & Cub boutique in downtown Jacksonville, FL. Little Alley Shows were just one of the many downtown activations funded through grants from downtown Jacksonville in 2023. The PlacemakingJax program brings together individuals and groups to “engage in the…To read more — login/subscribe

 

• Cities search for ways to make bike lanes safer
• World’s largest Monopoly board brings attention to forgotten downtown
• St. Louis fights dreaded downtown ‘doom loop’
• Cities need to rethink prohibition on ground-floor residential, planner says
• Shaded bus stops are a no-brainer — but permitting issues get tricky
• Downtown uses multipronged approach to drive revitalization
• Downtown living tours return
• Downtown targets public safety with six-point approach
• Idea Exchange

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In Raleigh, NC (est. pop. 477,804), the city council recently extended the contract for a security firm whose armed officers patrol near a downtown transit hub. In Los Angeles (est. pop. 3,822,224), the city council authorized private security for two long-abandoned buildings downtown. In Long Beach, CA (est. pop. 451,319), the Long Beach Downtown Alliance…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In Millburn-Short Hills, NJ (est. pop. 21,699), Restaurant Week has turned into a springtime traffic driver. The event debuted in March 2023, then returned in March 2024. Restaurant Week is organized by Explore Millburn-Short Hills, a special improvement district, and involves some 40 restaurants and boutiques offering 60 specials. The offerings ranged from appetizers to…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Embracing a newly popular strategy to improve traffic safety, San Francisco is moving forward with a ban on right turns during red lights downtown. While cities from Washington, DC, to Honolulu have cracked down on right turns on red, the concept isn’t popular everywhere. In Indianapolis, the issue has taken on a partisan bent —…To read more — login/subscribe

 

The Hollywood Partnership is about to open the famed neighborhood’s first public restroom. The facility, going into an empty space in a building owned by the city Department of Transportation, is being funded with $1.5 million from the Los Angeles mayor’s office. The concept got some pushback from neighbors. “Property owners sometimes have the belief…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In Tulsa, OK (est pop. 411,938), the Tulsa Remote program says its strategy of paying young workers to move to town is paying off. The initiative launched in 2018 as a way to reverse some of the brain drain from the heartland to the coasts. Tulsa Remote aimed to spark an influx of talent by…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Most Main Street programs operate on budgets of less than $300,000, and most Main Street directors collect salaries of less than $60,000 a year. That’s according to the 2024 Main Street Trends Survey by Main Street America. More than 500 Main Street organizations responded to the group’s questionnaire. In the latest survey, 60 percent of…To read more — login/subscribe

 

While the U.S. lags behind the rest of the world in investing in high-speed rail, a proponent of bullet trains sees rail projects as a way to breathe life into downtowns. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-MA, in March introduced the American High-Speed Rail Act, which calls for a $205 billion public investment in high-speed and…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In West Palm Beach, FL (est. pop. 120,922), downtown leaders have generated outsized attention with a modest investment in public spaces. The Fern Street Chess Park has served as a gathering place for chess enthusiasts for the past two years. The park includes three tables with chessboards painted on top and metal boxes holding chess…To read more — login/subscribe