Main Street Disaster and Resilience Toolkit
This publication is designed to help Main Streets and commercial district organizations better prepare for and respond to more frequent and severe disasters.
Marion, IA © Uptown Marion
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“Good transportation systems connect people to the jobs, education, and community supports that enable them to prosper and advance economically.”
A Smart Investment
District leaders know restoring and supporting our districts’ economic vitality requires years of work and a deep understanding of the many factors that play a role in the overall success of the district. Since transportation design in commercial districts provides a crucial foundation to these efforts — affecting foot traffic, what businesses can and cannot do, flows of private and public investment, property values, and tourism — Main Street leaders should support the most efficient use of their transportation systems as part of achieving sustainable economic vitality.
The key is to create and support people-oriented streets that mitigate suboptimal development patterns and the need for expensive infrastructure, increase walkability, and encourage investment and entrepreneurship, all with the goal of a harmonious, safe, and cost-effective balance of people’s and vehicular needs.
Car-oriented roadways and streetscapes can create negative costs:
- Taxpayer costs for creation and maintenance of expanding roadways and infrastructure
- Excessive parking
People-focused Main Streets reap more economic benefits:
- Increased visitation
- Increased spending in the district
- Retention of current residents and attraction of new residents
- Individual economic opportunity
- Entrepreneur investment and support
- Small businesses support
Resources
- American Public Transportation Association — Public Transportation Benefits
- Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking and Project for Public Spaces — Opportunities for Transformative Placemaking: Chattanooga Innovation District, Tennessee
- Barret, Laura Marie (Medium) — Placemaking in Economic Development
- Bent, Elizabeth and Singha, Krute (Transportation Research Board) — Modal Choices and Spending Patterns of Travelers to Downtown San Francisco: Impacts of Congestion Pricing on Retail Trade
- Hadden Loh, Tracy and Leinberger, Christopher (Brookings Institute) — The Economic Power of Walkability in Metro Areas
- Main Street America
- Mattson-Tieg, Beth (Urban Land Magazine) — Calculating the Cost of Excess Parking in Transit-Oriented Developments
- Michigan Municipal League — A Decade of Placemaking in Michigan
- Minicozzi, Joseph (Planetizen) — The Smart Math of Mixed-Use Development
- National Trust for Historic Preservation — Untapped Potential: Strategies for Revitalization and Reuse
- New York City Department of Transportation — The Economic Benefits of Sustainable Streets
- Project for Public Spaces — 8 Placemaking Principles for Innovation Districts
- Quednau, Rachel (Strong Towns)
- Schmitt, Angie (StreetsBlog USA) — Study: High-Traffic Arterial Roads Reduce Quality of Life, Even Blocks Away
- Sisson, Patrick (Curbed) — Why Building Walkable Cities is the Key to Economic Success
- Smart Growth America
- Temkin, Jenna (Brookings Institute) — How a rural Virginian town is using entrepreneurship to boost its local economy
- Victoria Transport Policy Institute — Streetscape Improvements: Enhancing Urban Roadway Design
Have a resource you’d like to add? Please fill out this form.
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