Main Street Renewal

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments    v
Preface   1

PART I: INTRODUCTION 
1. The State of Small Cities   7
The State of Small Cities   7
2. Overview of Local Economic Development   16
3. Trends and Practices in Local Economic Development   32
4. Issues Facing Small Businesses   56

PART II: ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT
5. Local Economic Development Practices   67
6. How to Get Started   87
7. Municipal Government’s Role   101
8. Creating Small Business Partnerships   107
9. Conducting a Community Self-Evaluation   115
10. Managing Development and Growth   122

PART III: THE TOOLS
11. Assessing Development Potential   137
12 Community Reinvestment Act   146
13. Downtown Revitalization   158
14 Downtown Safety Strategies   164
15. Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit   169
16.Keeping Retailers on Main Street   174
17. Parking Facility Management   181
18. Rural Banks and Economic Growth   186
19. Small Business Development Tools   193
20. Strengthening Downtown Businesses   203
21. Tax Increment Financing   209 

PART IV: THE CASE STUDIES
22. Creating “New” Main Streets in California, Florida, and Illinois   221
23. The Santa Monica, California, Streetscape Project   228
24. Bringing Back Neighborhood Streets in Boulder, Colorado   232
25. What West Palm Beach, Florida, Learned from Shopping Malls   239
26. Creative Infill Development Strategies in Buckland, Georgia   248
27. Developing an Economic Incentives Ordinance in Cobb County, Georgia   255
28. An Assessment of Economic Development Efforts in Rural Illinois Communities   262
29. Public Plazas Bring New Life to Main Streets in Indiana, Texas, and Wisconsin   277
30. Establishing a Main Street through Architecture in Columbus, Indiana   282
31. Preserving Main Street in Madison, Indiana   290
32. Dealing with a Volume Chain Store in Carroll, Iowa   300
33. Building Community through Strategic Planning in McPherson County, Kansas   305
34. Using Specialty Retail for Economic Survival in Ponchatoula, Louisiana   317
35. Revitalizing the Old Mill Town of Maynard, Massachusetts   323
36. Evaluating Main Street in Corning, New York   328
37. Rebuilding Downtown in Grand Forks, North Dakota   335
38. Suburbs Working Together in Cleveland Heights, Ohio   341
39. Developing a Downtown Design Assistance Program in Pullman, Washington   349