Why would a person choose your downtown as a destination with so many other alternatives available? Certainly many, if not most, of the goods and services offered there can easily be obtained elsewhere. Your main street probably does not contain the large national chains, deep discount prices, or acres of free parking that appeal to many customers.

The answer is a strong sense of place, a characteristic rarely associated with regional malls, big box retailers, or suburban commercial corridors.

A strong sense of place is vital to the health and propriety of a downtown, especially in smaller cities. In this article, we'll look at three aspects of this issue:

• What are the key elements of a sense of place and why are they so essential to successful downtowns?
• What can commercial districts do to enhance their sense of place?
• What role does the Main Street Approach play in creating and reinforcing a strong sense of place.

What is a sense of place?

What exactly does it mean to have a sense of place? Let's look at eight key elements that are pivotal to a main street's sense of place:

1. Downtown is distinct from other commercial settings.

A distinctive place embodies a character, look, flavor, and heritage that are not found in other locations, especially within the surrounding region. To best enhance its distinct qualities, a downtown should build upon its intrinsic historic, economic, natural and cultural amenities. It should also strengthen, integrate, and promote the following seven elements, few of which are found in commercial settings erected over the past few decades.

2. The downtown, and its sense of place, has evolved over time.

A downtown's sense of place was not created at a single point in time. It has evolved to represent multiple generations. Communities change over time economically, socially and culturally, and downtowns are better able than most places to reflect that in their built environment.

3. Downtown represents the unique heritage of the community.

A sense of place is closely associated with the degree to which individuals can connect to a locale in terms of their own experiences and those of their family and community. The downtown, more than any other place in most cities, reflects much of the heritage and experiences of a broad spectrum of people.

4. Downtown is multifunctional.

Downtowns provide a greater range of functions than any other location in the region. A single downtown may serve as a place for employment, shopping, worship, tourism, housing, government services, dining, entertainment, lodging and cultural attractions.

Multiple functions give a wider variety of users a reason to visit downtown. Not only does this help to enhance activity levels throughout the day and week, but it also creates more stakeholders for the district. More functions will result in more people including the downtown as an important place within their overall sphere of activity.

5. Downtown is pedestrian friendly.

A sense of place is best experienced on foot. Therefore, a commercial district with a strong sense of place has made strides to tame the automobile and to make pedestrian needs a high priority.

6. Human activity is vital to a sense of place.

Regardless of its aesthetic qualities, a built environment requires the presence of people to produce a desirable, appealing place. Not only do people make a business district look more vital; they will in turn attract more activity since people are drawn to bustling, lively places. The level of human activity is a function of economics (multiple functions attracting diverse users) and physical setting (heritage, aesthetics, and pedestrian accessibility).

7. Downtown encourages people to linger.

A sense of place invites people to stay longer than is necessary to conduct their business. People will be tempted to linger if a place is comfortable, safe, attractive, and interesting. The longer people choose to stay downtown, the more establishments they will visit, thereby providing an economic benefit as well.

8. Downtown engenders a high level of community ownership.

The question of community ownership is directly connected to the degree that citizens actually use the downtown. The higher the number of stakeholders, the greater the level of ownership and interest and the greater the potential for downtown to be integral to the overall sense of community - the idea that downtown is everybody's neighborhood.

How can your main street enhance its sense of place?

Most traditional business districts contain many, if not all, of the aforementioned elements. To take advantage of these amenities, which are not prevalent in the majority of newer commercial settings, main streets from coast to coast have utilized a variety of strategies. Here are some key enhancement strategies that have worked in communities throughout the nation.

Creating a pedestrian-friendly downtown
Many downtowns have striven to make the experience of walking more enjoyable by adding amenities for pedestrians. Widely used amenities include:

• Brick pavers to make sidewalks look more distinctive;
• Street trees to soften the environment and provide color and shade;
• Human-scale street lights for enhanced aesthetics and illumination;
• Banners and flags to make the district look more festive and colorful; and
• Benches to give people a place to sit, rest, and watch what goes on around them.

Taking advantage of the waterfront. Water is a powerful draw and can help instill a strong sense of place.

Two important principles underscore effective downtown waterfronts. First, cities must provide clear pedestrian linkages between the commercial core and the water. Second, public access is essential. The design of waterfront buildings and open spaces must make it easy to get to and view the water.

Providing and enhancing open spaces. Open spaces are important to a downtown's sense of place. They encourage people to linger by providing a place for them to sit, relax, read, engage in conversation, and just contemplate life. Besides supplying the district with much-needed vegetation and shade, open spaces can also accommodate community gatherings.

Kindling community pride. A strong sense of place cannot be created overnight, nor can it be the result of one major project or initiative. With the assistance of a vision and plan that incorporates the elements of place described in this article, a downtown can achieve a strong sense of place through the convergence of numerous projects and efforts, many of which are small scale. A distinctive commercial district is the sum of many coordinated, individual initiatives.

America's main streets have the unique opportunity to tap into the collective memories, experiences, and activities of many individuals. Even though people will continue to patronize big-box discounters and suburban shopping malls, they will feel little sense of ownership at these locations. A distinctive main street becomes much more than a utilitarian place of business; it is a place where people can find meaning, enjoyment and community pride.

Kent Robertson, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of Community Development at St. Cloud State University (Minnesota). He has published more than 20 professional articles on downtown development, been a keynote speaker at several state and national conferences, and assisted communities with their downtown development efforts through facilitating visioning sessions (Marinette, Wisconsin; St. Cloud, Minnesota), conducting workshops (Yonkers, New York; Wausau, Wisconsin; Hartford, Wisconsin), and leading community forums (Jonesboro, Arkansas; Anoka, Minnesota).

For more information or a copy of the entire article, contact:

Kent Robertson, Professor & Director
Community Development Program
Department of Community Studies
St. Cloud State University
St. Cloud MN 56301-4498
phone: 320-255-3184
fax: 320-654-5413
e-mail: kent@stcloudstate.edu

Center for Community Economic Development
University of Wisconsin - Extension

New York Main Street Alliance

National Main Street Center

An example of downtown revitalization:
Joe Shipes of Leesburg, FL discusses Leesburg's revitalization efforts with the CaRDI-USDA training class, Feb. 2002.

Part 1 (4 min 14 sec)

Part 2 (3 min 40 sec)