For many downtowns, feet on the street are a crucial factor, a variable that determines the viability of everything from stores and restaurants to cultural attractions to public transit. There’s good news on that front, according to newly released data from the 2020 census. U.S. population density increased in the past decade after falling in…To read more — login/subscribe
Hoping to reduce severe accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists, many downtowns have tested traffic roundabouts as an alternative to intersections with traffic signals. One city isn’t experimenting — it’s going all in. During the past two decades, Carmel, IN (est. pop. 101,918), has invested heavily in a plan to replace traffic lights with roundabouts. After…To read more — login/subscribe
Paducah, KY (est. pop. 24,894), is offering incentives to lure remote workers to town. Paducah, a folk arts hub and a UNESCO Creative City, joins other small and mid-sized cities in wooing white-collar workers by offering cash stipends and other bounties. Paducah’s program includes cash reimbursements for relocation costs and Internet services, as well as…To read more — login/subscribe
In Ann Arbor, MI (est. pop. 119,976), the Healthy Streets program returned for a second year this spring. The program, which launched in 2020 in response to the pandemic, aims to provide additional space for socially-distanced walking and bike riding. The 2021 activities saw changes to many streets such as reducing a stretch of Main…To read more — login/subscribe
Olympia, WA (est. pop. 51,534), has launched a downtown loyalty program inspired by traditional retail marketing techniques and updated with Pokemon Go technology. The program launched this summer as part of the Olympia Downtown Alliance’s Why I Go Downtown initiative to encourage patronage of local shopping, dining, and entertainment. The program brings classic punch card…To read more — login/subscribe
Events spread out, take over streets Downtown event planners took a number of steps to ensure that summer and fall events were appropriately sized and not overly crowded. Among the strategies: Events are being scaled back and spread out across city streets and over multiple days. • The annual A Taste of Colorado food festival…To read more — login/subscribe
In Madison, WI (est. pop. 259,673), a new program will provide a financial safety net for food cart operators doing business in public parks. In Fort Collins, CO (est. pop. 170,245), an initiative will sponsor asphalt art in neglected neighborhoods. The two programs are among the winners of the latest round of pandemic-recovery grants from…To read more — login/subscribe
In Greensboro, NC (est. pop. 296,725), shoppers who spent $25 downtown this summer were eligible to win $500 through a raffle. In Baltimore, downtown leaders developed a grant program to support black-owned businesses. While such efforts were born in part of pandemic desperation, the wave of downtown initiatives reinforces the resilience of downtowns, not to…To read more — login/subscribe
In Fort Myers, FL (est. pop. 87,111), the city council recently voted to grant $11 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) to the developer of a downtown project with 274 apartment units and 467 parking spaces. In Kalispell, MT (est. pop. 23,241), the city is considering TIF money for a proposed downtown hotel with 79 rooms…To read more — login/subscribe
