Hi !

Downtown Development - the Cliff-note Version!
Kent Robertson is a Professor and the Director of Community Development at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Earlier this spring some of my colleagues at Boomtown Institute had the pleasure of hearing him speak on downtown development. Since then he's had an article on the same topic featured in Rural Research Report, published by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs. His expertise is evident and I want to share a few of his insights with you.

Robertson has defined five core principles essential for successful downtown development in rural areas, based on his years of research and first-hand experience.
1. Develop and Vision and Plan for Downtown
2. Identify and Build Upon Local Assets
3. Build a Strong Public-Private Partnership
4. Enhance the Downtown's Sense of Place
5. Determine the Downtown Market

A few tips regarding the core principles:

• Stay away from the "Let's try this; let's try that" approach - "A vision for what people want the downtown to be in five to ten years is an essential starting place."
• Don't focus on local problems and deficiencies - "Every rural downtown possesses a collection of assets that can provide the foundation upon which future downtown development efforts are focused."
• Organize! - "Small towns always benefit from an organized effort towards downtown development rather than unorganized groups seeking to make improvements…An organized group has the power of collective action, can be an effective lobby, and can help raise the profile and visibility of the downtown area."
• Be yourself - "A sense of place is an important quality that brings people to a downtown, makes them feel connected, and causes them to want to stay."
• Know who you're attracting - "A key question to ask early when a rural community starts downtown development efforts is 'Who do we envision using our downtown?'"