Downtown Idea Exchange, January 2024
January 1, 2024
- Waiting for spring to attract visitors? Don’t miss an opportunity
- Downtown bolsters retail base with free delivery service, referral fees
- More downtowns approve outdoor drinking districts
- Use of bike share and e-scooter trips soars
- ‘Ghost signs’ make a comeback
- Broad-based task force needed to address downtown’s woes
- Looser parking requirements continue to gain momentum
- Reliability woes, high-profile bankruptcy tarnish e-bus experiment
- Idea Exchange: Quick Tips and News from Around the Country
Sweet treats draw customers during holiday season In Oak Park, IL, the annual cookie walk draws crowds into downtown stores. The cookie walk began as part of the annual Winterfest, and quickly became the signature event. Participants purchase a souvenir cookie tin and a map of over 30 participating businesses. At each stop participants receive…
Lynn Lights wins praise for community involvement — A series of public art projects has helped Lynn, MA, shake off its malaise. Read an archive article about the Beyond Walls mural festival.
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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…
Free parking is the downtown amenity that urban purists love to hate. On the other hand, paid parking is the toll that downtown merchants despise. Alex MacLachlan of the Escondido Downtown Business Association is in the latter group. When the city council in Escondido, CA (est. pop. 151,619), proposed charging for parking at the city’s…
In 2017 Buffalo, NY (est. pop. 255,300), became the first U.S. city to stop requiring developers to include a minimum amount of parking in new projects. Other cities followed, including Hartford, CT, and Santa Monica, CA. As the idea gains momentum, two researchers from the University of Buffalo wanted to know what happens when a…
From wildfires to hurricanes to tornadoes, downtowns are feeling the effects of extreme weather events. In downtown Atlanta, a flash flood in September inundated streets, swamped cars, and forced the Georgia Aquarium to close. In another example, flash floods in Leominster, MA (est. pop. 43,478), damaged downtown businesses and city roads. Summer flooding in downtown…
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…