Downtown Idea Exchange

• Outdoor kiosks breathe new life into long-dormant space
• Seven strategies for salvaging the holiday shopping season
• Narrower roads, not wider ones, are the answer to traffic congestion, urbanists say
• How to deal with bikes on sidewalks? Ordinance, fines are one approach
• Street performers draw visitors downtown
• District-wide approach to outdoor dining
• In one downtown, self-parking garage shows glimpse of future
• Art fills vacant storefronts downtown
• Turkey Trot to proceed in person and virtually
• Relocating city staff has many benefits
• Micro-events arrive downtown
• Gift cards for the holidays
• Farmers market vendors move into downtown space
• An outdoor open house
• Gift creates new downtown destination

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The coronavirus pandemic has claimed thousands of lives while spreading untold fear. Yet the crisis also unleashed a wave of creativity. For evidence, look to the city of Baltimore’s Design for Distancing contest, a program created to elicit ideas for innovative responses to the COVID-19 recession. The competition brought more than 160 entries, many from…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In Rosslyn, VA (est. pop. 12,314), the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has taken the form of purple stickers, signs, and banners placed throughout the 17-block Business Improvement District. The city’s Rosslyn Ready program includes hundreds of signs, stickers, banners, and instructional materials distributed throughout the most-trafficked areas of downtown, including sidewalks near the Metro…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In early March, Daniel McGinn was gearing up for public hearings on an area development plan for the city of Corpus Christi, TX. Then the coronavirus pandemic erupted, and in-person gatherings of large groups were off the table. “Our first instincts were just to cancel the meetings,” says McGinn, planning director at the city of…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Consulting firms Freese & Nichols and MetroQuest offer the following tips for getting the most useful responses from online public engagement efforts: • Know your objectives. Understand what data elected officials need. • Remember that humans are visual creatures. Find ways to communicate via images instead of words. • Take pains to avoid bias in…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Downtown Billings, MT (est. pop. 109,544), has long struggled with vandalism and other property crimes committed, in part, by the homeless. Like many downtowns, Billings has turned to the concept of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to discourage loitering, public drunkenness, and vandalism. Cities from Portland, ME, to Redding, CA, have adopted some of…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Empty office buildings, canceled events, shuttered bars and restaurants. The short-term fallout of the coronavirus pandemic was painful for downtowns. Now, downtown leaders across the country are bracing for a slower-to-unfold crisis. State and city tax revenues have been hit by the COVID-19 recession, and that’s likely to mean tighter budgets for downtown priorities for…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) are gaining momentum across the country. The backyard apartments — sometimes known as guest quarters, casitas, carriage houses, in-law suites, or granny flats — can ease housing shortages and boost density in residential neighborhoods that are downtown or adjacent to downtown areas. For downtowns that have struggled to lure housing units,…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Wilmington, NC (est. pop. 122,610), has rekindled downtown traffic with Downtown Alive, an initiative focused on social distancing and outdoor dining. In Kalamazoo, MI (est. pop. 76,557), the downtown district has introduced a new social district that allows for public consumption of alcohol. Both programs are focused on the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.…To read more — login/subscribe

 

For the past 19 years, people have flocked to the annual Blueberry Festival in downtown Marquette, MI. The summertime favorite features sidewalk sales, food vendors, crafts, blueberry specials, pony rides, children’s activities, and inflatables. For 2020, the event was transformed from Blueberry Fest to Blueberry Quest. Starting the morning of Friday, July 31, 20 “blueberry”…To read more — login/subscribe