Three-step approach to chronic homelessness helps cities achieve “functional zero”
February 1, 2021
Chronic homelessness is a problem that vexes many downtowns, and there’s no easy solution. Long-term homeless people often are afflicted with serious mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders, or physical disabilities. In a sign of hope, a new approach to homelessness is paying dividends in some mid-sized cities. Rockford, IL (est. pop. 147,070), and Abilene, TX…To read more — login/subscribe
Most cities that built pedestrian malls in the 1960s and 1970s quickly abandoned the experiments. Galveston, TX, Ashtabula, OH, and Fayetteville, NC, removed their failing pedestrian malls soon after installing them. However, in some cities decades-old pedestrian malls continue to thrive. Downtowns in Boulder, CO, Charlottesville, VA, and New Orleans boast bustling pedestrian malls. With…
Fort Collins, CO (est. pop. 170,245), was a bike-friendly place going into the pandemic. Since 2018, it had been one of just four U.S. cities to earn a Platinum designation from the League of American Bicyclists. During the depths of the pandemic, the city raised its cycling game even more by further investing in its…
When Jason Duff was growing up in Bellefontaine, OH (est. pop. 13,574), his family owned a Hallmark card store downtown. The city center was thriving, and Duff recalls fond memories of working in his parents’ shop and learning to tie a necktie at the men’s clothing store downtown. But in the 1990s and the first…
When it comes to business signage, many commercial areas are a free-for-all of ads of all shapes, sizes, and colors. If your downtown could be described as an “ugly, cluttered, sign-overloaded district,” it’s time to clean up, says Ed McMahon, chairman emeritus of Main Street America and a senior fellow at the Urban Land Institute.…
President Joe Biden has unveiled a policy designed to spur conversions of empty commercial buildings to residential use. The plan calls for public financing of office-to-residential projects, the sale of some federal properties, and targeted tax incentives. “Office and commercial vacancies across the country are affecting urban downtowns and rural main streets,” the White House…
In some ways, the economic trajectory of Clarksdale, MS (est. pop. 15,124), is similar to that of other small cities in the Deep South. Per capita income is less than $20,000, and the poverty rate is north of 40 percent, according to the Census Bureau. But Clarksdale has created a downtown success story based on…
More than a century ago, merchants and downtown building owners used ads painted on the sides of brick buildings to drive business. From the mid-1800s until about 1950, retailers and consumer brands used these commercial messages to grab shoppers’ attention. The eye-catching signs featured bright colors and bold lettering. The sign-painting boom ended decades ago.…