Board Spotlight: Meet Main Street America’s Three New Board Members
We are excited to welcome Lynda Tran, Tyrone Rachal, and Mary Helmer Wirth to the Main Street America Board of Directors
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Earlier this year, Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
This series explored small town economic development and quality of life, how the pandemic has affected real estate and land use practices, asset-based economic development, and redeveloping suburbs and aging commercial corridors. While this series was designed for North Carolina cities and towns, the content Ed shares is both evergreen and applicable for Main Street communities across the nation.
Learn more about Leverage NC’s series and hear inspiring words from Ed below:
Part 1: Secrets of Successful Communities
“Successful communities always have a vision for the future. Failing to plan simply means planning to fail”
Every community has its own strengths and weaknesses, but successful communities often share some common characteristics. This webinar examines the “secrets of successful communities,” exploring how some communities are able to maintain their economic vitality and quality of life in a rapidly changing world, while other communities continue to lose jobs, population and their once unique character and identity. Learn about tools and techniques that successful communities use to thrive!
VIEW PART 1 ON VIMEO
Part 2: How the Pandemic is Affecting Real Estate and Land Use
“For communities, there’s really only two kinds of change: there’s planned change and there’s unplanned change.”
The pandemic is transforming how and where Americans live, work, shop, and move around. But, as Ed points out in this important conversation, most of these changes were occurring before the pandemic began and have only been accelerated by it. As many of these changes will continue after the pandemic has ended, it is essential that Main Street stakeholders understand these changes, the impact they are currently having on real estate and land use, and what these trends mean for the future of our work.
VIEW PART 2 ON VIMEO
Part 3: Asset Based Economic Development
“Small really does matter: small steps, small businesses, small deals, and small developments can add up to a big impact.”
Today, successful economic development is more about what a community has, rather than what it doesn’t have. This webinar examines how the economic development paradigm is changing. Industrial recruitment, for example, is still important, but today, growing existing businesses is even more important. Ed also outlines the role “place” plays in economic development and provides examples of how communities are investing in and enhancing “quality of place” to foster new jobs and investment.
VIEW PART 3 ON VIMEO
Part 4: Redeveloping Suburbs and Commercial Corridors
“Many suburbs are building in more compact, walkable, mixed use ways and these suburbs are outperforming the drive everywhere for everything suburbs.”
The suburbs are changing, and the old approaches to suburban development no longer work. Between an undersupply of multi-family housing, small lot housing, and mixed-use development and the migration to suburbs and smaller cities, it is imperative that Main Street professionals find new ways to revitalize aging suburbs, dead malls, and cluttered commercial strips. In this workshop, Ed explores the tools and techniques that communities are using to do just that.
VIEW PART 4 ON VIMEO
Thank you to Leverage NC for organizing these great workshops! Hear more from Ed McMahon here.
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A series of small, incremental improvements, when taken together, provide momentum for long-term economic transformation and improved quality of life in a community.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: The Refresh from Our Communities’ Perspective
Here's a bit of background on each of the communities. Read on for the Refresh Implementation Q&A.
Announcing the 2017 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc. announced the 2017 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) during its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Reality of Main Street — Letter from the President
The National Main Street Center and the Brookings Institution have jointly authored a response to Mr. Hyman’s piece, The Reality of Main Street, that is featured on Brookings’ blog.
Michigan Main Street Refresh Implementation: Our Process and Lessons Learned So Far
Michigan Main Street Center was the first Coordinating Program to implement the new Main Street approach on a large scale. In this article, they share their robust process and valuable lessons.
The Reality of Main Street
There is another way for smaller communities to compete in today’s economy and we believe a strong main street strategy is at the heart of it.
The Myth of Main Street? Letter from the President
Letter from past MSA President, Patrice Frey
The Lowdown in Downtown LaBelle
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Strategic Planning Through Transformation Strategies – Saline, Michigan
Back in October 2015, we introduced the three key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach: inputs, outputs and Community Transformation Strategies.
Revitalization and Main Street Transformation
For a lucky few downtowns, greatness may happen effortlessly with a strong sense of place that seems to develop organically and simply sustain itself. For most places, success doesn’t happen by chance.
Revisit Your Community’s Unique Assets: Connecting Asset-Based Economic Development to Community Transformation Strategies
This need for change results from the heavy emphasis on three components of the refreshed Main Street Approach.
The 2016 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The 2016 winners are a diverse group in geography and character, but together demonstrate the broad applicability of the Main Street Approach:
Main Street Nation Radio
The first official show under the Main Street Nation banner aired in June 2015 on WJR-760 AM Detroit.
The Path To The Future
The economic value of historic preservation on Main Street.
Refresh Demonstration Project Sites: Learning Labs for the Updated Main Street Approach
A series of demonstration projects providing the opportunity to test new strategies on the ground, learn from practitioners, and refine the approach.
Why Business Retention and Expansion Plans are Important for Downtowns
A business retention and expansion plan, properly implemented, not only helps keep businesses open but possibly even helps them expand.
Wisconsin Main Street: 27 Years of People, Places and Progress
While there have been over $1.2 billion in public and private investment in Wisconsin Main Street communities over the past 27 years, what really makes it special are the people and places that have been involved.
Pop-Up Art Tour
Main Street Bartow's empty storefronts become pop-up art galleries to promote economic development.
A Walk Through Rehoboth Beach Main Street
Although a “beach town,” Rehoboth Beach is open 365 days a year, and with that has the unique challenge of catering to both year-round residents and tourists within a wide range of ages, interests and economic levels
Independent We Stand Makes Main Streets a Priority
In communities across the country, hardworking business owners and buy local advocates come together to foster an organized effort to reinvent and revitalize Main Streets and downtown districts.
Announcing the 2015 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center is pleased to announce that Cape Girardeau, Mo., Montclair Center, N.J., and Rawlins, Wyo. were selected as the 2015 Great American Main Street Award® (GAMSA) winners.
