Downtown Revitalization
Downtown is often the heart of a community.
A study conducted by the University of Waterloo recommended that revitalization strategies should concentrate on niche markets as well as retention and expansion of physical characteristics that distinguish downtown from other environments in the community.
Australian based Village Well has developed a great Placemaking Activation Kit.
IDEAS ON UTILIZING VACANT DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES
Check out this great resource developed by the University of Wisconsin.
The Province of Ontario has published a comprehensive Guide to Setting up a Business Improvement District.
In the Subscribers Only Section you will find:
- Links to libraries and databases of downtown and Main Street revitalization best practices.
- Database of innovative ideas for downtown businesses.
- Example of a Retail Gap Analysis
- Threshold Analysis for Rural Areas and Small Urbans.
- How Main Street programs leverage business and job creation.
- Best practices in Business Improvement Districts
- Downtown revitalization and historic preservation