The Main Street Approach
to Downtown Revitalization
The Main Street methodology addresses the following four areas of concern and combines activities in these areas to develop a community's individual strategy for redeveloping downtown. They are organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring.
1.) ORGANIZATION
The Main Street approach to downtown revitalization requires the effort of the entire community. The merchants, property owners, local government officials, and civic leaders must agree to support common goals for revitalization and join together in a partnership. The downtown development organization and the local Main Street program manager are key players. A local program manager is necessary to act as an advocate for the downtown and to coordinate the various efforts of individuals and groups to ensure that all are working together to develop the downtown.
2.) PROMOTION
The promotion of the downtown as a single, unified commercial area – in the same way that a major shopping mall is promoted – will help attract customers and strengthen Main Street's role as a viable business center. The downtown organization can coordinate an aggressive promotion and marketing campaign that includes a program of special events and business promotions. If it is to thrive, the downtown must improve both its self-image and the image it projects to potential customers and investors.
3.) DESIGN
Good design is essential to all aspects of downtown revitalization. The Main Street design philosophy is not a "purist" preservation approach, but one that seeks to utilize and enhance those elements of quality design that remain in each building. Good design must be extended to include promotional literature, store window and merchandise displays, public building improvements, and street amenities.
4.) ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING
Economic restructuring seeks to change the ways in which downtown "works" by restoring many of the elements that Main Street has lost over the past few decades. While many small downtowns may not regain their dominance as primary retail centers, careful economic and market analysis usually confirms that they can maintain economic strength by diversifying the present mix of retail uses and by attracting new retail and non-retail functions, including office, recreation services, and residential uses. Retail and business retention and recruitment, development of effective merchandising techniques, encouraging entrepreneurial reuse of upper stories for downtown housing and office space, and better utilization of existing and potential recreational assets are all aspects of economic restructuring
| The following information is an excerpt of information found on the New Hampshire Main Street Center website: http://www.nhcdfa.org/mainstreet.html |
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