Character Main Streets A Practitioners Guide for Planning Downtowns in Small Cities and Towns

Character Main Streets is a guide for creating downtown as the social center of small cities and towns. The vision is an active downtown where everyone feels comfortable gathering and being sociable for specific events or for no reason at all; a place for strolling, shopping, dining; a place for recreation, entertainment and education.The basic strategy is to leverage every main street activity and all of its assets to create a city center that fosters hometown spirit, civic pride and a sense of community trust. The physical and economic features of every small city can be employed to build a social city center that is interesting, pleasant and prosperous for residents, employees, businesses and visitors; a sustainable, livable place with: Civic buildings with customer and visitor-oriented activities located on or near main street, including city hall, the public library, the community theater, the local history museum, a central park or plaza and public galleries. Shops, restaurants, cafés, offices, hotels, galleries and service businesses enabled by the presence of civic buildings, supportive infrastructure and friendly regulations with high standards.Small city main streets are, or can become, the places where people from all walks of life, ages, incomes and backgrounds converge in a comfortable physical setting to participate in a vibrant society.Vision and leadership are the critical factors for a successful main street. The prize is a sociable city anchored by a main street with character.