Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown With Small-Scale Manufacturing by Ilana Preuss

Author:Ilana Preuss [Preuss, Ilana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Architecture, Small Business, General, Urban & Land Use Planning, Sustainability & Green Design, Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781642831924
Google: zY0oEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 2021-06-22T23:36:18.505442+00:00

Start Here

We start with a series of questions that you can use in conversations with the instigators of the project. These conversations can be with people in a neighborhood taking the lead to bring their main street back to life, economic development leaders from the jurisdiction, or the executive team of an improvement district—you get the idea. You want a small group of people who will shepherd this project from start to finish and are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

One note about this small leadership group: please, please agree to be honest with one another about what needs to be done to get beyond the usual suspects (remember that network bias!). Be clear with one another about how to make real change in the immediate term in a way that has lasting impact. Don’t just let old ideas slide into this new approach.

There are eight elements to set the Spark. These elements help you understand different parts about who needs to be at this new table, where you are heading (at least in general), and what assets you have to build on. As you work through these eight elements, you may also begin to identify gaps; keep them, too. In future steps, you will work to understand these gaps and which ones are most important to fix sooner rather than later to reach your outcomes.

Here are some of the questions to get started. For a complete worksheet with all the questions, download your copy at www.RecastYourCity.com.

Context: Describe what it is like to walk down the street in your project area. What is it like on a Saturday afternoon? What businesses do you see?

Urgency: Why is it important to make changes? What is at stake? What happens if you don’t make any changes?

Outcomes: What should this place look like in five or ten years as you walk down the street? Who should be in the storefronts? What does that mean about your community? Who should benefit from the investment? In what way? How can we measure that impact?

Location focus: Do you want to impact all of downtown or main street? Is there a key block or intersection that is most important right now? Where is the energy starting to build already?

Partners at the table: Who are you already working with on downtown? Who is missing? How do you make sure that downtown or main street businesses include the diversity of your community?

Small-scale manufacturing businesses: Do you have any small-scale manufacturing businesses engaged in downtown yet? What organizations can help you find them? How will you reach diverse business owners in your community?

Real estate: Are the downtown or main street property owners at the table? Of the property owners or local developers, who really believes in the community and downtown?

Promotion and branding: What kind of public relations does the downtown have now? Is there a goal for more exposure?

Business development: Are there existing local business development programs, and if so, what are they? Who do they reach?

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