The Colorado Springs Gateways Initiative was a clear win for the city’s downtown. The new landmark signs at the entrance to downtown are eye-catching, and the project was honored with an award from the International Downtown Association. Downtown leaders in Colorado Springs, CO (est. pop. 478,215), began planning the project in 2016, and physical installations…To read more — login/subscribe
Art carts showcase artists’ work, enliven downtown Art on the Town was created to help artists in Lexington, KY, show and sell their work. The program features eight mobile carts that are available seven days a week at no cost to artists. “The carts are mobile and can move around within several block areas of…To read more — login/subscribe
The T-Mobile Hometown Grants program offers funding for community-development projects in cities of less than 50,000 people. The five-year, $25 million initiative kicked off in 2021. T-Mobile Hometown Grants are given every quarter to up to 25 small towns. In the most recent round of grants, recipients include: • Northport, AL. Its grant will connect…To read more — login/subscribe
A new business recruitment campaign in Providence, RI, is reaching out not only to business owners and top executives, but to their employees. The Bring Your Company to Life campaign encourages employees to “start a movement” or “bribe your boss” in order to move a job they love to a place they can love equally.…Continue reading
Several of the experts who contributed to Downtown Idea Exchange’s annual Looking Ahead article cited a growing emphasis on nurturing startups in cities of all sizes. The first step, they say, is recognizing a new breed of non-traditional entrepreneur. Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that small business startups in rural communities are more…Continue reading
Social media has forever changed the way that people plan trips, take trips, and document a trip after their return. This change presents new opportunities for cities and towns to grow the local economy through tourism. Whether tourists come downtown to see historic sites and cultural venues, to… Continue reading
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.…To read more — login/subscribe
Two years after the publication of her book Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing, author Ilana Preuss says she continues to hear from downtown leaders interested in cultivating their own cadre of makers and artisans. Downtown Idea Exchange spoke to Preuss in 2021 for the article Wooing small-scale manufacturers. Since…To read more — login/subscribe
Who’s your Emma Crawford? The Emma Crawford Coffin Races and Festival in Manitou Springs, CO, has been going strong for 28 years. The quirky event draws on a bit of local history to bring 10,000 spectators downtown every October. Emma Crawford, who died in 1890, was safely buried on a hilltop overlooking the city. In…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
