Diversity, demographics will be driving forces for downtown development, study says
January 1, 2020
North America’s population is growing both younger and older, and more culturally diverse. Those demographic trends create both tailwinds and new challenges for downtown development, according to the 2020 Global Trends Report by Progressive Urban Management Associates and the International Downtown Association. Millennials and members of Generation Z have embraced urban living. Employers and employees…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…
The 37-story office building at 100 N. Main St. in Memphis, TN (est. pop. 651,088), is a reminder of both downtown’s promise and its challenges. The tower is the tallest structure in the downtown skyline. Yet it has sat empty since 2014. Thieves have harvested the copper wiring. And vandals have knocked books from the…
In Fort Lauderdale, FL (est. pop. 182,434), downtown leaders are organizing a “Get Back Downtown” event for September. The outdoor office party will urge office workers to return to their cubicles in the central business district’s office towers. In Columbus, OH (est. pop. 902,073), a downtown group likewise is marketing the city center by sprucing…
In a low-income area of Portland, OR, is a 29,000-square-foot strip shopping center filled with a mix of independent merchants and service providers. The tenant list includes a Latina-owned hair salon, several tax preparers, and the Somali American Association of Oregon. In similar neighborhoods, such a property would be owned by a well-heeled landlord who…
Wayfinding efforts stymied by out of date signs Placards hanging from posts direct pedestrians to local businesses and places of interest in downtown Healdsburg, CA. A January audit of the signage found that over 40 of the 100 placards listed businesses that had closed or moved. As the council looks to update the signage, it…
Ice bars provide frosty entertainment — Hospitality venues in Lake George, NY, know a lot about how to entertain outdoors in frosty winter weather. When the temperatures dip, they open their ice bars. See a video produced by the county tourism department below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9921lPCbrE
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T-Mobile continues to parcel out grants to small and midsized cities as part of its Hometown Grants program. The mobile carrier recently released details about its latest round of 25 grant winners. The awards of up to $50,000 went to recipients around the country with a wide variety of ideas. One theme: All the winners…