This Florida Town Rode a Rail Trail to an Economic Revival

Residents of Winter Garden, FL, realized they needed to take action to revive their declining town. They did this by focusing on one straightforward goal: bring people back downtown.

Main Streets Designed Like State Highways: How They Work and How To Change Them

Two prominent communities in Berkshire County, MA, are in the midst of deciding what to prioritize on their main streets: cars or people?

Can New Jersey Supermarkets Predict an End to the Suburban Experiment?

The trajectory of these Jersey supermarkets is a microcosm of how the suburban experiment altered small towns, turning them from tiny cities into suburban lifestyle accouterments.

Big Box Stores, Suburban Experiment, Top StoryAddison Del MastroAugust 9, 2022main street, Traditional Main Street, big box stores, Small Towns, small towns, suburban experiment, suburbanization, New Jersey, Addison Del Mastro, local economy

Stanwood Mulls Strong Towns-Style Main Street Makeover

This small town is considering overhauling its main street to embrace walkability and good old-fashioned main street urbanism.

Success Story, Urban Design, Top StoryDoug TrummJune 13, 2022Washington, Small Towns, downtown, main street, Traditional Main Street, revitalization, walkability, urbanism, success, success stories, rural

Strong Towns Need Strong Downtowns

A crucial part of making your city or town stronger lies in revitalizing your downtown. Here’s how one Local Conversation organizer is doing that work in her place.

#StrongCitizens, Community, Pattison, Top StoryJohn PattisonMay 18, 2022advocacy, main street, Traditional Main Street, Small Towns, small towns, Louisiana, community, Community, local economy, downtown

Recovery Playbook: Back to Downtown & Main Street

This guide will take you through short-term and long-term strategies for downtown and Main Street recovery in the wake (and midst) of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus, Economic Development, Strategies, Top StoryJonathan BerkMarch 11, 2022coronavirus, placemaking, creative placemaking, downtown, main street, Traditional Main Street, urbanism, revitalization, how to, economic development, Economic Development

Let Main Streets Be Main Streets

A community should determine what kind of community it wants to be, not unelected DOT engineers.

Break Out of the Resource Trap with a Strong Towns Approach

Communities in decline face a great deal of work if they hope to someday become stronger towns. Remember that it is a process, not a destination. Here’s how you can begin.

Community, Economic Development, Marohn, Resource Trap, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 28, 2021resource trap, RBC Series, community, main street, Traditional Main Street, Resource Trap - Core Content

Reinforce the Main Street Ecosystem in Your Place

Resource-focused cities of the past built wealth in a downtown core surrounded by neighborhoods. Here’s how to recreate that ecosystem in your place, today.

Community, Economic Development, Marohn, Resource Trap, Top StoryCharles MarohnMay 27, 2021resource trap, RBC Series, community, main street, Traditional Main Street, Resource Trap - Core Content

Here's What *Not* to Do to Your Small-Town Main Street

How one small town in South Carolina destroyed everything that makes downtown downtown.

Roads and Streets, Rural, Top StoryDaniel HerrigesDecember 3, 2020STROADS, South Carolina, small towns, rural, highways, downtown, main street, Traditional Main Street

The Mall vs. Main Street: Where Are They Now?

The trajectories of two local shopping districts—a mall built in the mid-80s, and a historic downtown—provide an object lesson on the power of the “chaotic but smart” approach to growing a city.

Top Story, Big Box StoresJake BermanJuly 21, 2020California, shopping malls, main street, Traditional Main Street, fieldsteadca

How to Rebuild Resort Economies, Post-Coronavirus

Five bold strategies to prioritize and jumpstart economies in resort communities.

Top Story, Economic DevelopmentMark RiversApril 2, 2020Traditional Main Street, main street, coronavirus, small business, tourism

Why Do We Think Walkable Towns Are Only for Tourists?

Great urbanism: if it’s good enough for a vacation, then it’s good enough for everyday life.

Walkability, HerrigesDaniel HerrigesMarch 5, 2020walkability, tourism, small towns, traditional development pattern, main street, Traditional Main Street

Lessons in Traditional Development from Small Town Tennessee

Two small Tennessee towns reveal the mighty power of a traditional downtown square—even one that isn’t designed to achieve its full potential. It’s simply the most foolproof and financially productive style of development there is.

#DotheMath, Sulaski, Urban3, Top StoryRobert SulaskiJuly 23, 2019Tennessee, downtown, Small Towns, Traditional Main Street, Value Per Acre

How to Use Gamification to Make Your Historic Business District a Must-See Destination

In this episode of our podcast It’s the Little Things, Jacob chats with Darren Smith—Founder, President, and CEO of Traipse—about how you can boost your historic business district with gamification, including how to gamification can boost tourism, get more traffic for merchants, and make your historic business district the destination it deserves to be.

Podcast, It's The Little Things, Top StoryJacob MosesNovember 7, 2018Strong Citizenship, Traditional Main Street, community building, technology, tourism

Ellicott City's Flood Mitigation Plans Would Be a Disaster in Their Own Right

Like many small, historic cities, Ellicott City, Maryland is a resilient town that has always rebuilt and recovered after natural disasters. It would be a shame if it could not recover from a man-made one.

Urban DesignMary Catherine WalterSeptember 17, 2018history, flooding, Maryland, Traditional Main Street