Economic Vitality is at the core of a Main Street community. It involves taking a proactive, collaborative approach to building and growing a diverse economic base through smart new investment, cultivating a robust ecosystem for small businesses, focusing on the unique assets of your community, and fostering equity and inclusion to create an environment to help build local wealth.
Organization creates a shared vision that converts the Main Street program’s mission into clear goals, defines the organization’s role in revitalizing the downtown or commercial corridor using an approach that fits the neighborhood, and builds structure for the board and staff. Organization also involves creating a strong foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort through the cultivation of strong partnerships, community involvement, and resources.
Promotion positions your downtown or neighborhood commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity, while creating a positive image that showcases your community’s unique characteristics, culture, history, and defining features. Effective promotional activities help change or enhance the image of your downtown, preserve its unique heritage, and support its reputation as the place for residents to shop, work, live, have fun, and invest.
Design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing the physical and visual elements of downtown while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart. In this video, we provide an introductory overview of the guiding principles, tools and incentives, and day-to-day and future-focused considerations that propel the Main Street movement.