The Downtown Manhattan Beach Farmers’ Market reopened in mid-May after a brief closure due to the pandemic. Operated by the Downtown Manhattan Beach Business and Professional Association, the California market has been active since 2006. The market reopened with a new look and new procedures. The number of customers was limited to 35 people at…To read more — login/subscribe
Bennington, VT, has won a grant to support the design and fabrication of a downtown kiosk that will display information about historic sites, cultural attractions, and other amenities in the Bennington area. The kiosk will feature QR codes that link to online maps and walking tours. Printed walking tour brochures will also be available. The…To read more — login/subscribe
Several cities nationwide are testing solar-powered products that provide free Wi-Fi and smartphone charging stations while simultaneously gathering pedestrian activity and traffic pattern data. In Oak Park, IL, the first Soofa Core unit was installed in a city park last August, closely followed by units in three other urban parks. The device, located adjacent to…Continue reading
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
As more people embrace the urban lifestyle, pets are moving to city centers with their owners. That trend has increased the demand for downtown dog parks, which in turn, attract more pet-loving residents and visitors, creating a cycle of revitalization that benefits people, pooches, and businesses. Increasingly, communities are realizing that being people- friendly means…Continue reading
A new breed of business could lead a wave of downtown revitalization. Niche manufacturers — think craft jewelers, makers of small-batch lotions and cosmetics, and microbrewers — are a growing, but often overlooked, segment of the post-pandemic economy, says Ilana Preuss. Preuss is founder and chief executive officer of consulting firm Recast City. She’s also…To read more — login/subscribe
• Get started. Discuss goals, build a list of assets and partners, and establish the major outcomes that will determine the project’s success.
...• Make new connections. Every city faces a familiar challenge: A small group of people attends community meetings, while most remain invisible. Preuss says you need to search out new people — owners of small-scale producers, home-based businesses, and property owners. “We won’t find all these people easily, however, which brings us to the Connectors,” Preuss says. “Connectors are trusted leaders from different communities who are willing to make change happen.” This group can include faith leaders, cultural influencers, civic leaders, and other trusted members of the community. ...
• Get to know small-scale producers. Once you’ve identified key entrepreneurs, get to know them. Preuss suggests one-on-one interviews during which you find out about business owners’ needs. Involving entrepreneurs early allows them to feel a sense of ownership in your community’s strategy. Make sure to include a racially diverse group of people that includes Black and Brown producers. ...
• Analyze. After talking to key players, your next step is to determine what it all means. Should the community buy a vacant building downtown and use it as an incubator for small-scale producers? Do you need lending or training resources for your business owners? Do zoning and land-use rules restrict downtown production? Each community will have unique challenges, but this step will guide your next move. ...
• Act. To build momentum, Preuss says, you should act immediately — even if the initial step is a modest one. She points to Fremont, CA, which wanted to build its pipeline of small-scale manufacturing businesses. But the city realized it had no way to identify these entrepreneurs, let alone gather them for marketing efforts. So Fremont’s first small victory involved promoting small-scale manufacturers through the city’s public relations channels, and asking entrepreneurs to sign up on a city list. “This simple action attracted community attention and allowed the city to start bringing people together online and in meetups,” Preuss says. The first action was similar in South Bend, IN, where many manufacturing operations were so small that they flew under the radar. Contact: Ilana Preuss, Recast City, 240-472-2765. ...
Marketing a downtown effectively requires research, strategic thinking, community-wide soul-searching, and solid implementation. The payoff of all this work can be felt everywhere from more effective business recruitment to stronger tourism and more meaningful events. It’s a hard task, says Roger Brooks, head of Destination Development Association. He sees some common mistakes that downtown leaders…To read more — login/subscribe
In Madison, WI (est. pop. 259,673), a new program will provide a financial safety net for food cart operators doing business in public parks. In Fort Collins, CO (est. pop. 170,245), an initiative will sponsor asphalt art in neglected neighborhoods. The two programs are among the winners of the latest round of pandemic-recovery grants from…To read more — login/subscribe
In recent years, Elizabeth Cook noticed that building owners in Charles Town, WV (est. pop. 6,373), stopped applying for the city’s façade improvement grants. The problem? Every building owner who needed a grant had already gotten one. So Cook, downtown coordinator at Charles Town Now, came up with a plan to transition the program to…To read more — login/subscribe
