MAIN STREET’S FOUR-POINT APPROACH …

Over the past 35 years, Main Street America has led the development of a national network of over 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts – what we refer to as Main Streets - all united by these communities’ tireless dedication to creating vibrant, people-centered places to live, work, and play. The people who make up the Main Street network are passionate advocates, dedicated volunteers, influential stakeholders, and community organizers who work daily to turn the tide in their communities – catalyzing reinvestment, creating jobs, and fostering pride of place. Main Street-style transformation is a combination of art and science: communities first need to learn about the local economy, its primary drivers, and its regional context (the science), but they also need to convey that unique sense of place through story-telling, preserving the older and historic structures that set it apart, broad civic engagement and marketing (the art). To support this robust network, the National Main Street Center has a revitalization framework – the Main Street Approach - that helps communities leverage the art and science of downtown revitalization to create a better quality of life for all.

The Main Street Approach is most effective in places where community residents have a strong emotional, social, and civic connection and are motivated to get involved and make a difference. This approach works where existing assets – such as older and historic buildings and local independent businesses – can be leveraged and aged. It encourages communities to enact long-term change while implementing short-term, inexpensive, and place-based activities that attract people to the commercial core and create a sense of enthusiasm and momentum about their community. Throughout the country, small-city downtowns and urban neighborhoods are renewing their community centers with Main Street methodology.

Ultimately, these community-driven efforts result in places with strong social cohesion and economic opportunity. These places support and sustain innovation and opportunity, and they are places where people of diverse perspectives and backgrounds come together to shape the future.

THE REFRESHED MAIN STREET APPROACH

  • The Main Street Approach begins with creating a vision for success on Main Street that is rooted in a solid understanding of the market realities of the district and is informed by broad community engagement. Main Street promotes a community-driven process that brings diverse stakeholders from all sectors together, inviting them to participate proactively in the revitalization process. This essential step provides a foundation for outlining the community’s identity, expectations, and ideals while confirming real and perceived perceptions, needs, and opportunities. It also ensures that the vision truly reflects the community's diversity.

  • A vision of success alone is not enough. Communities must work together to identify critical strategies, known as Community Transformation Strategies, that will provide a clear sense of priorities and direction for revitalization efforts. Typically, communities will find one to three Community Transformation Strategies needed to help reach a community vision. These strategies will focus on long—and short-term actions, moving a community closer to achieving its goals.

  • To succeed, Main Street must show visible results that can only come from completing projects – both shorter and longer-term activities that add up to meaningful change. Activities aligned with shorter-term strategies focus on evident changes that are a reminder that the revitalization effort is under way and succeeding, helping to secure buy-in from community members and rallying volunteers. Placemaking strategies – those actions that focus on what can be achieved, “lighter, quicker, and cheaper” are particularly effective and vital in energizing the community and demonstrating short-term progress.

    While shorter-term, prominent activities are critical to Main Street’s success, communities must also focus on implementing longer-term projects and activities that build substantial change over time. Identifying milestones for these longer-term projects can create a sense of momentum and reinforce the community's need for sustained focus on revitalization efforts.

    Coinciding with implementation is an equally important focus on measuring progress and results. Healthy Main Streets are built on a commitment to measure outcomes. We live in a time where public resources are scarce, and competition for private resources is fierce. Main Streets must be able to demonstrate the wise use of resources, which translates to real change on the ground: new jobs added to a Main Street, new businesses opened, buildings redeveloped, and numerous other metrics of success.

THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

  • Every Main Street district has assets on which it can begin building its revitalization initiative. Many Main Streets have distinctive historic buildings that create a strong visual identity for the district; for example, many have at least a handful of successful businesses that can serve as springboards for adding new products, services, businesses, and activities. Other assets might include concentrations of district workers or residents, proximity to a major attraction, access to a major highway, the availability of certain types of buildings, a college or university, or solid entrepreneurial traditions. Every Main Street district’s history is rooted in that of its community, offering a rich narrative for the district’s continued evolution.

  • All the factors that affect a downtown’s health are tightly interrelated. No single focus – lavish public improvements, name-brand business recruitment, or endless promotional events – can revitalize Main Street. A comprehensive approach, including activity in each of Main Street’s Four Points, is essential for successful, sustainable, long-term revitalization.

  • Baby steps come before walking. Successful revitalization programs begin with simple activities demonstrating that “new things are happening” in the commercial district. As public confidence in the Main Street district grows and participants’ understanding of the revitalization process becomes more sophisticated, Main Street can tackle increasingly complex problems and more ambitious projects. This incremental change leads to much longer-lasting and dramatic positive change in the Main Street area.

  • While some government and nonprofit resources can support certain revitalization activities, no outside entity can – or will – revitalize your community’s commercial district. Local leaders must have the will and desire to mobilize local resources and talent. That means convincing residents and business owners of the rewards they’ll reap by investing time and money in Main Street — the heart of their community. Only local leadership can produce long-term success by fostering and demonstrating community involvement and commitment to the revitalization effort.

  • The public and private sectors have a vital interest in the district and must work together to achieve Main Street’s revitalization goals. Each sector has a role to play, and each must understand the other’s strengths and limitations to forge an effective partnership. Partnerships must also be inclusive, engaging the entire community in envisioning the district’s future and benefiting from its success.

  • Emphasize quality in every aspect of the revitalization program. This applies to all process elements — storefront designs, promotional campaigns, building rehabilitation, and public amenities. Poor quality reinforces negative public images of the district. “High quality” does not mean “high price”; it involves careful planning and execution.

  • Almost no one initially believes Main Street can turn around. Changes in attitude and practice are slow but definite. Public support for change will build as the Main Street program grows and consistently meets its goals. Change also means engaging in better business practices, altering ways of thinking, and improving the physical appearance of the commercial district. A carefully planned Main Street program will help shift public perceptions and practices to support and sustain the revitalization process.

  • To succeed, Main Street must show visible results that can only come from completing projects. Frequent, visible changes are a reminder that the revitalization effort is under way and succeeding. Small, achievable projects at the beginning of the program pave the way for larger ones as the revitalization effort matures, and that constant revitalization activity creates confidence in the Main Street program and ever-greater levels of community support and participation.

(Source: Modified from Indiana Main Street Guide and Handbook)

  • Economic Vitality is at the core of a Main Street community.  It involves taking a proactive, collaborative approach to building and growing a diverse economic base through wise new investment, cultivating a robust ecosystem for small businesses, focusing on your community's unique assets, and fostering equity and inclusion to create an environment to help build local wealth.  Main Street Pendleton effectuates economic vitality by facilitating and supporting policies and practices designed to expand downtown’s diverse economic base, including ongoing public-private investments and partnerships, encouraging and cultivating robust small business entrepreneurial ecosystems that drive Pendleton’s local economy. 

    ACTIVITY EXAMPLES: analyzing current market forces, providing a balanced commercial mix, supporting and expanding existing businesses, recruiting new businesses, supporting housing options, developing infill space, and converting unused or underused productive property

  • Design supports a community’s transformation by enhancing downtown's physical and visual elements while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart.  Main Street Pendleton also focuses on design, which supports our community’s transformation by enhancing the downtown's physical and visual elements while capitalizing on the unique assets that set the commercial district apart.

    ACTIVITY EXAMPLES: improving the physical appearance of the Main Street District, quality maintenance practices, historic building rehabilitation and adaptive use, and design review processes

  • Organization creates a shared vision that converts the Main Street program’s mission into clear goals, defines the organization’s role in revitalizing the downtown or commercial corridor using an approach that fits the neighborhood, and builds a structure for the board and staff.  Organization also creates a solid foundation for a sustainable revitalization effort by cultivating strong partnerships, community involvement, and resources.  Main Street Pendleton can only achieve success through impactful organization, which creates a shared vision that converts the Main Street program’s mission into clear goals, defines the organization’s role in revitalizing the downtown corridor, and builds structure for the board and staff.  This creates a solid foundation for sustainable efforts by cultivating durable partnerships, community involvement, and resources.

    ACTIVITY EXAMPLES: fundraising, volunteer recruitment and development, public relations, fostering collaboration between stakeholders, and developing work plans to guide the organization’s work

  • Promotion positions your downtown or neighborhood commercial district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity while creating a positive image that showcases your community’s unique characteristics, culture, history, and defining features. Practical promotional activities help change or enhance the image of your downtown, preserve its unique heritage, and support its reputation as a place for residents to shop, work, live, have fun, and invest.  Main Street Pendleton positions our downtown district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity while creating a positive image that showcases our community’s unique characteristics, culture, history, and defining features. Practical promotional activities help change or enhance the image of our downtown, preserve its unique heritage, and support its reputation as a place for residents to shop, work, live, have fun, and invest. 

    ACTIVITY EXAMPLES: marketing an enticing image, social media campaigns, street festivals, parades, and retail or other special events