Providing safe storage to homeless Most local shelters only permit clients to bring a single bag, forcing them to choose between leaving their belongings behind or staying elsewhere — often on downtown streets. In Kansas City, MO, 30 gallon bins are providing storage for the homeless. The rolling bins are stored in a secure location…To read more — login/subscribe
St. Paul, MN (est. pop. 306,604), has long faced perceptions that its downtown is unsafe. The St. Paul Downtown Alliance has made strides on that front with an inexpensive makeover of downtown trash bins. St. Paul’s sidewalks are lined with decades-old concrete containers. Over the years, the garbage receptacles have been covered with graffiti. The…To read more — login/subscribe
A free microtransit service in downtown Tampa, FL (est. pop. 385,423), moves 500 passengers a day, making it a marked success. The Downtowner is an Uber-style service that lets commuters summon rides with their phones. The average wait is 15 minutes, but so many commuters use the Downtowner at peak times that waits can be…To read more — login/subscribe
Placemaking grants drive activity Little Alley Shows brought live music to a long-forgotten space behind the Wolf & Cub boutique in downtown Jacksonville, FL. Little Alley Shows were just one of the many downtown activations funded through grants from downtown Jacksonville in 2023. The PlacemakingJax program brings together individuals and groups to “engage in the…To read more — login/subscribe
Santa Cruz, CA (est. pop. 64,729), has a thriving downtown. Some 4,000 workers have jobs in the district, and downtown’s mix of early-morning cafés and late-night bars create what Claire Gollogly, the city’s transportation planner, calls a “23-hour” city. There is a catch, though. Downtown Santa Cruz is home to just 2,000 parking spaces. “We…To read more — login/subscribe
The #SeizeDesMoines Share Des Moines program allows the Greater Des Moines Partnership to recruit Social Ambassadors to help share the latest news in economic development, downtown events, and quality of life via social media.To sign up, new ambassadors simply visit www.seizedesmoines.com and click on Share Des Moines. The Partnership makes sharing easy by sending out email…Continue reading
The federal government is directing hundreds of billions of dollars to states and cities, a windfall that has downtown leaders nationwide positioning themselves to get a piece of the pie. In March, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) into law. The initiative calls for $1.9 trillion in economic stimulus, including an infusion…To read more — login/subscribe
After a two-year renovation that cost $33 million, the library in downtown Spokane, WA (est. pop. 229,065), reopened in a reimagined format. No longer a warehouse for books, the library features a number of new amenities, including study rooms, recording facilities, and art studios open to the community. There’s also a business incubator and a…To read more — login/subscribe
Even before the coronavirus pandemic brought attention to such streetside features as parklets and flex zones, cities were rethinking how to use these important but overlooked areas. Many cities are saddled with last-century practices that prioritize parking for single vehicles over reliable bus lanes, safe bikeways, efficient loading areas for freight, or even public space.…To read more — login/subscribe
Downtown leaders have long debated the pros and cons of parallel parking vs. diagonal parking. Hollister, CA (est. pop. 37,835), is trying a different approach: It’s one of a handful of cities using back-in angled parking. In 2018, the city introduced back-in parking at San Benito High School. Now, it’s adding the angled spots downtown.…To read more — login/subscribe
