In January, the city council of Portland, OR (est. pop. 635,296), adopted an emergency ordinance that lets food trucks operate in the Central City Plan District. The two-year pilot program waives city rules barring food trucks from the district. The new program expands the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Healthy Business Program, which let downtown property…To read more — login/subscribe
Roger Brooks of the Destination Development Association offers three tips for managing stress during trying times: Stay upbeat. This crisis eventually will pass, and while the virus is deadly for some, most people who contract the virus have only minor symptoms. Limit your intake. The news is overwhelming. You need to be informed, but you…To read more — login/subscribe
What could have been a messy and unpleasant situation has become an annual tradition and attraction in downtown Portland, OR. The problem is crows roosting in downtown trees at night. “Cars, sidewalks, benches, handrails, and just about everything else under the trees is fair game when Mother Nature calls, leading to concentrated splatters of bird…To read more — login/subscribe
Downtown Mesa, AZ, offers new businesses, a vibrant downtown filled with murals, art installations, and placemaking projects. It also offers small businesses something a little less artistic: The Downtown Small Business Attraction Utility Rate Program. The program provides a 25 percent reduction in energy and water bills for three years for new businesses that fit…To read more — login/subscribe
The Fifth Street bridge in Augusta, GA, was built in 1932. By 2020, it was showing its age. A treacherous bump in the roadway forced motorists to slow down and the railing on the sidewalk was too low to be considered safe by modern standards. So in 2020, the city and the Georgia Department of…To read more — login/subscribe
Traditional economic development strategies focus on wooing corporations, the larger the better. But it makes more sense to focus on homegrown businesses, says Matthew Wagner, vice president of revitalization programs at the National Main Street Center. “It’s really about shifting our economic development focus to one of cultivating human capital rather than business recruitment,” Wagner…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
Downtown Mesquite, TX (est. pop. 142,874), positions itself as a destination for authentic local flavor. But the small business owners who contribute to the historic heart of the city don’t always have a sophisticated grasp of business management or how to tap into the resources that will help them succeed. To address this reality head-on,…To read more — login/subscribe
…on national averages or information from neighboring communities. Instead, Willson shows how readers can confidently develop their own requirements based on local parking data, an understanding of future trends affecting parking use, and clear policy choices. Case studies are used to illustrate what works, what doesn’t, and how to… Continue reading
The renovation of a handful of highly-visible homes is being cited as a driver of the economic turnaround in Millinocket, ME. The Northern Forest Center launched the Millinocket Housing Initiative in 2017 with the goal of renovating 10 properties and providing housing options for staff at nearby Millinocket Regional Hospital. As of October, the initiative…To read more — login/subscribe
