The summer kicked off with triple-digit temperatures in the Pacific Northwest. It was a record heat wave in an area not accustomed to high mercury readings. John Pattison, a content manager with Strong Towns saw the intense heat as a reminder of an unfortunate reality: There’s just not enough shade in many cities, and certainly…To read more — login/subscribe
As part of a redevelopment of their downtowns, two mid-sized cities are making an unusual move: They’re giving up the traditional model of a city-owned parcel housing City Hall. Instead, the cities are spurring downtown redevelopment projects by partnering with private developers. In the process, they’re moving city administrative offices into mixed-use developments. The cities…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
Back in 2016, New Haven, CT (est. pop. 130,257), launched a campaign to market locally produced goods by giving products a distinctive logo and promoting them under the Made in New Haven brand. As of mid-2021, the program is still going — although it has lost much of its momentum, one city official says. On…To read more — login/subscribe
Ben Shardlow, director of urban design at the Mpls Downtown Improvement District, acknowledges that he’s a bit jealous of other downtowns, at least when it comes to their lush tree canopies. "You go to some cities, and it seems like the trees just leap out of the ground," Shardlow says. That’s not the case in…Continue reading
In Denver’s Lower Downtown (LoDo) neighborhood, downtown leaders have activated streets and alleyways over the past five years, an initiative that has contributed to the neighborhood’s revitalization and strong sense of place. The effort links Dairy Block, Market Station, and McGregor Square, creating what LaDonna Baertlein, director of business development at design firm DigStudio, calls…To read more — login/subscribe
With several portable toilets on the verge of being removed from service, the City of Columbus, OH, came through with $51,000 in funding to maintain the toilets and keep them open. That temporary reprieve will be followed by a more permanent solution, as Columbus has earmarked funds to install several free-standing bathrooms downtown. Early in…To read more — login/subscribe
Greensboro, NC (est. pop. 296,725), will launch a downtown social district in March. Within its boundaries, visitors will be able to stroll while carrying alcoholic beverages in specially labeled plastic cups. Greensboro is one of a number of North Carolina cities that have enacted, or are considering, downtown social districts after Gov. Roy Cooper in…To read more — login/subscribe
Downtown proponent breathes life into one small town, hopes to repeat feat — Downtown Bellefontaine, OH, was nearly knocked out by the arrival of national retailers on the outskirts of town in the 1990s and by the Great recession in the first decade of the 2000s. But the town is fighting back. See a case study about downtown Bellefontaine’s revival.
...Downtown enacts three-pronged response to pandemic downturn — The pandemic dealt a number of blows to the once-thriving downtown in Sacramento, CA. The Sacramento Downtown Partnership's recovery plan includes $200,000 for event activation assistance. Read more on event assistance programs. ...
Old cinema is revived as downtown cultural hub — For decades after it opened in 1930, the Soo Theatre was the place to see a movie in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. But when a multiplex came to town, the one-screen cinema struggled, finally closing its doors in 1998. Read the League of Historic American Theaters’ manual on theater rescue, restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse. ...
Flexibility needed to fill vacant storefronts — In an effort to fill vacant downtown storefronts, the City of Seattle temporarily relaxed limits on storefront uses. The legislation applies to specific areas including the city’s retail core. See ordinance 126421. ...
Crokicurl: A new downtown activity — Memorial Square in Prince Albert, Sask., Canada, is drawing visitors downtown on even the coldest days. They are there to play crokicurl and maybe to linger for a warm drink and a little shopping. Check out Public City Architecture Inc’s instructions for setting up and playing crokicurl. ...
