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This summer, our Research team was joined by Jonathan Nerenberg as Main Street America’s Archetypes Intern. Jonathan led work looking into the archetypes of Mature Main Streets, Autocentric Main Streets, and Inactive Main Streets.
At the conclusion of Jonathan’s time at Main Street America in late July, he joined Michael Powe, Ph.D., Senior Director of Research, to talk about the summer project. Their conversation touched on the findings of the project and how this research can help us support Main Streets across the network.
Michael: To start, could you share a little bit about yourself and your background? What made this project one that you wanted to work on?
Jonathan: I grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and I just completed my undergraduate degree at Loyola University, Chicago, majoring in sociology and minoring in urban studies. I also took a lot of classes related to urban history, which I find really interesting. When I first saw this internship description, I was very excited because I thought that Main Street America, and this particular role, combined a lot of my interests.
Tell me about the project that you’ve been leading this summer. What were its goals?
We came into this project with three main goals. The first was to identify the programs that fit into specific archetypes — places or programs that share certain characteristics that play a big role in shaping their experience, the challenges that they’re facing, and the approaches that they might need to solve those challenges.
The second was to hear from the leaders of the programs to understand the challenges that their types of programs are facing. This was really exciting because it gave me the opportunity to directly interact with some of the people that are leading this kind of work and to hear their perspectives directly.
The third goal was to create some recommendations based on our findings. This was my chance to make a mark on the Main Street Approach going forward and suggest the types of things that Main Street America should be focusing on in the future.
You ended up landing on three different kinds of Main Streets for your analysis. Can you tell us about those categories?
I chose three categories: Mature Main Streets, Autocentric Main Streets, and Inactive Main Streets.
Mature Main Streets are programs that are well established; they may have been part of the Main Street network for decades and have achieved a lot of success with the Main Street Approach. Success can also come with challenges, like rising housing costs in the community, gentrification, and rising commercial rents. The big question for these programs is: what’s next?
Autocentric Main Streets are those with challenges related to automobile traffic and roadway design. Often these districts contain a state highway within their district boundaries. Many of these programs are built on a very car-centric built environment, and it can be very difficult to turn that foundation into a place that welcomes pedestrians. I think the biggest challenge for these programs is the relationship with state departments of transportation.
Inactive Main Streets are programs that have been a Main Street America member in recent years but have dropped off the membership rolls in the past year or two. Talking to the leaders of these programs and learning from these programs can help us understand what Main Street America might need to do to serve these types of programs better.
Community members celebrated the reveal of the “Nautical Neighbors” stained glass mural. © Mainstreet Oceanside
How did you explore these archetypes? What were the methods you used?
First, we identified programs that fit into these groups using recommendations from Coordinating Programs and Main Street America’s membership database. We sent out surveys and received 22 responses from Mature programs, 16 responses from Autocentric programs, and unfortunately, only four responses to the Inactive survey.
Once the surveys were returned, the programs were invited to participate in focus groups to gather more information and open a dialogue between programs experiencing similar challenges.
What struck you most about the local leaders themselves — the folks we talked to during the focus groups?
I was surprised by how engaged they were in making change in their communities and advocating for their programs’ needs. Everybody came to the focus groups with things that they wanted to talk about and with a lot of knowledge about their program, the challenges they’re facing, what they’ve been trying to do.
What were some of the major themes you took away from the analysis that you did?
The first big takeaway was the need for grouping and peer learning. All of the participants were excited to be categorized in these way because it helped them think about the challenges that they are facing. I think this kind of peer networking is one of the most useful tools that that Main Street America can provide to these programs — showing that they’re not alone in these in these struggles and these challenges.
I also learned that these challenges aren’t just challenges — they are also opportunities. For example, high vehicle traffic and wide roads can make walkability difficult, but it also brings a lot of potential customers into and through the district. If you can find a way to get people to stop their cars and to get out and to go into the businesses, there’s a huge customer base to tap into.
Roadway use and design are important issues for many Main Streets. © Hawkeye Aerial Services
Did anything jump out as a big surprise in your analysis?
I was surprised to find that every participant highlighted staffing needs in these local Main Street programs. There is a need for more funding to pay staff competitive salaries and offer competitive benefits to reduce turnover.
One idea that came up during this project is the difficulty of measuring certain metrics of success for Main Street programs. Could you say more about what we learned as far as these ideas go?
Yes! I learned that some of the measures of success that Main Streets experience are not easy to measure. For example, the diversity of business ownership in the district. It can be difficult to quantify, but I think it’s definitely a goal that some of these programs should really be thinking about.
Measures of displacement and gentrification can also be hard to measure. The Mature programs feel the pressures of gentrification and are starting to implement strategies to mitigate those pressures and to mitigate the effects of displacement.
What do you think is going to stick in your mind a year from now or five years from now?
This research also opened my eyes to the role that smaller local organizations — these local Main Street programs — are playing in their communities. I was really struck by how engaged these directors were and how much they cared about their communities. Seeing how these local leaders are running their programs in these communities is definitely a really a cool model to have in my mind as I move forward.
If you are interested in learning more about Jonathan’s project, you can view a slideshow detailing the research here. If you are interested in joining one of the “archetype” groups for future conversations, please email the Main Street America Research team at research@mainstreet.org.
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Missouri Main Street Connection (MMSC) had the opportunity to take Missouri Executive Directors and other community representatives on the Iowa Community Expedition
District Spotlight: Pontiac, Michigan
In response, UrbanMain and Main Street Oakland County joined forces in March 2018 to assist Pontiac stakeholders in putting their downtown organization back on a positive track, making Pontiac the first community in Michigan to participate in the UrbanMain initiative.
2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets Winning Sites
American Express, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Main Street America announced the winners of the 2018 Partners in Preservation: Main Streets campaign.
2018 Community Transformation Workshop Recap
An essential component of the Main Street America Institute, the three-day in-person workshop gives participants hands-on tools to enact revitalization projects in their communities.
A Statewide Movement Improving West Virginia Main Streets
Since 2013, Try This West Virginia has sought to improve health environments in local communities as a collaboration of organizations working together to combat the health challenges facing West Virginians.
Community Spotlight: Main Street Hampton
Main Street Hampton hosted a Food and Friends Farm-to-Table dinner at the Rustic Brew during Main Street Iowa Restaurant Week.
Community Spotlight: Partners in Preservation 2018
From community gathering spaces to retail incubators, from small towns to big cities – this year’s projects and communities are a testament to the diversity of Main Streets across the country.
Community Spotlight: Ames, Iowa
Downtown Ames hosted a festival for the 46th annual RAGBRAI race (The Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa).
7 Ways To Bring Your Main Street On Screen
You don’t need to be a big-name district to make a video that goes viral; you just need to know what you’re doing.
Comcast Newsmakers: Revitalizing Downtown
Matt Wagner, National Main Street Center's Vice President of Revitalization Programs, discusses competitive advantages, incrementalism and the power of the Main Street America network
Community Spotlight: Main Street Homer, Louisiana
Main Street Homer (Homer, Louisiana) was awarded a $25,000 A Community Thrives social impact grant from Gannett/USA Today Network to create an arts center with affordable artist studios and classroom/event space.
Evolution, Acceptance, and Change: The Main Street Approach as a Catalyst for Revitalization
Nearly slated for demolition 30 years ago, downtown Cedar Falls has experienced an amazing transformation through its revitalization journey using the Main Street Approach.
Main Street Roots Run Deep in Downtown Wytheville
Since starting as Executive Director, Todd has helped the organization achieve Virginia Main Street Designation Status and national Accreditation.
Announcing the 2018 Great American Main Street Award Winners
The National Main Street Center, Inc., announced Downtown Oregon City, Rock Springs Main Street/Urban Renewal Agency, and Howell Main Street as the 2018 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) winners during its annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri.
Main Streets in Action
We rolled out four new Main Street America videos highlighting the power of the Main Street movement, Main Street Approach, economic impact of Main Street, and the incredible volunteers that make Main Street's grassroots network so effective.
Community Spotlight: Ridgefield Main Street
Ridgefield Main Street is an energetic, up-and-coming Washington Main Street program located just north of Vancouver, Washington.
Want to do something big? Start small.
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.
