Downtown Idea Exchange

• Downtown rethinks approach to parking
• Waiving parking enforcement backfires
• Massive meal brings residents together, boosts optimism
• Goodbye suburban malls, hello walkable shopping districts
• Seven rules for developing downtown business recruitment data
• Downtowns deal with homelessness “one person at a time”
• City turns vandalism into opportunity for public art
• Can outdoor dining coexist with winter? Here’s how to make it work
• Bereft of visitors, tourism hub makes pitch to local residents
• Rain gardens beautify sidewalk, clean rainwater
• Pandemic forces downtown parade to go virtual
• Street design and recovery
• Comeback Cuisine
• Adapting to colder weather
• Classic sidewalk sales breathe new life into city center
• Temporary changes to become permanent
• Design playbook showcases pandemic solutions

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When downtown boosters in tiny Tionesta, PA (est. pop. 326), suggested activating a long-vacant lot by using garden sheds as outdoor kiosks, the reaction was mixed. Some wondered if downtown Tionesta would simply be home to a flea market. One wag derided the concept as “sheds on sleds.” Seven years later, the Tionesta Market Village…To read more — login/subscribe

 

During the coronavirus recession, American consumers turned away from brick-and-mortar retail and toward online shopping. It’s a trend that doesn’t bode well for downtown retail activity heading into November and December. To salvage the holiday shopping season, downtown leaders must be realistic about the conflicting trends that are roiling consumer behavior, says Matthew Wagner, vice…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In downtown Little Rock, AR (est. pop. 197,868), the Interstate 30 bridge across the Arkansas River grows congested at every rush hour. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department responded with a predictable solution: It has embarked on a massive widening of the roadway from six lanes to 12 lanes. The bridge connects downtown Little Rock…To read more — login/subscribe

 

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred an increase in bicycle commuting, a trend welcomed by many downtown leaders. But when cyclists zip through crowded sidewalks, the situation can get downright dangerous. In Longmont, CO (est. pop. 95,986), city leaders were disturbed by regular sightings of cyclists riding on downtown sidewalks. City Councilwoman Polly Christensen called cyclists’…To read more — login/subscribe

 

A few years ago, Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis experienced something of a dress rehearsal for the COVID-19 pandemic. When the pedestrian street was disrupted by construction in 2018, pedestrian traffic dropped from 20,000 people a day to just 13,000. “It was kind of a ghost town during construction,” says Lisa Middag, director of Nicollet…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Marco Li Mandri, who runs San Diego’s Little Italy Association, admits he was stunned by the coronavirus pandemic. “No one knows how to deal with this,” he says. “We’ve never had a situation where we’ve been confronted with the entire economy shutting down.” After the initial shock, Li Mandri got creative. His district has survived…To read more — login/subscribe

 

In an initiative that promises to reduce the amount of downtown space devoted to parking, Ford, auto parts maker Bosch, and a prominent landlord in Detroit are developing a self-parking garage in that city’s downtown. See Ford’s video of its automated valet project. Proving that the future of self-parking cars might not be so far…To read more — login/subscribe

 

The coronavirus pandemic has hurt traditional retail and caused a spike in vacancies. Downtown leaders in Houston have come up with a way to keep vacant storefronts from looking desolate: Empty spaces along Main Street are now home to art installations. The Downtown District and UP Art Studio have installed 18 works by Texas artists,…To read more — login/subscribe

 

Like many cities across the country, Buffalo, NY, is home to an annual downtown Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving weekend. 2020 marks the 125th running of the race. But the sponsoring YMCA determined to host a slightly different event this year.  Instead of the traditional 14,000 person run, the organization plans to host a downtown race…To read more — login/subscribe