People’s preferences have changed. Suburbs are “out”… a relic of an automobile culture where high-speed auto access defined every transition of our day-to-day life, (from home-to-school-to-work-to-stores, and back), and was accomplished on four wheels in a climate-controlled environment. No more. Cities are “in”, right? Everyone wants to “live-where-you-work”, and walk to shops, entertainment and – in general – all the best things in life. That’s the great promise of the “back-to-the-city” movement. Except it didn’t happen the way we predicted.

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As any Main Street Manager will attest to, we are very adept at managing and adapting to change. We always have a “Plan B” because we know things change constantly. In my humble opinion, Main Street is about change, or more accurately, managing change. This might seem counter to half of our mission of historic preservation, which some translate to “keep things the way they were”. However, I believe that every Main Street should constantly change, it must to survive.

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Some of you might recognize the title as encompassing the lyrics from that 1964 song by Petula Clark, “Downtown”. When I was asked to write this week’s blog, I started thinking about what the focus should be.  Although I was a youngster when this song came out, I remember it well because it was one of the first tunes I could play on my guitar! My point is that I think the song appropriately reflects the importance of downtowns to our communities...

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There seems to be a renewed buzz over the past year regarding pop-up stores. The Great Recession has offered few positive, exciting things in the marketplace, but the media is awash in pop-up stories. They provide consumers and landlords with options that were not previously present, and they generate activity on the street and at the cash registers. 

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If there’s something you want to do, ask a Main Street manager. Really, anything. If you have a desire to say, start a rock band or open a 401(K) or shoot yourself into outer space, but you really want to do this with someone’s validation and support, just Google “Main Street Office” and ask whoever answers the phone.

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As Promotions Specialist for the Michigan Main Street program, part of my job will be to make sure communities take seriously the need for marketing and promotion. But that may not be easy. Promotions is often seen as the party committee; instead, it’s the group charged with getting people downtown. But until one takes that mile-long hike in someone else’s penny-loafers, it’s difficult to understand another’s purpose. 

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Imagine yourself on vacation and driving to wherever it is you’re going. You’re taking a new route from usual and you drive through this downtown. Would this downtown leave an impression on you? If so, what kind of impression would it leave? Is this a place that would catch your attention? 

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I consulted my respected Random House dictionary the other night; the anchor of a book that came with the Windows 3.1-compatible CD that fostered a chuckle. In the age of Google, I like the massive weight of it, the starchy feel of the pages filled with words that have evolved through the centuries. My destination: value or valuable. 

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We get it. The economy is tough. Some businesses are having a hard time getting by. So we will look the other way when a business owner puts a hand made sign up in the window for a sale one week. Then the next week. Then two handmade signs. Then another business owner decides to do it. And another. In another building the roof is leaking. So a bucket goes in the store’s aisle way and ceiling tile or two comes down. It stays like that for a few days, maybe a week or two. Another building owner decides to duct tape the crack in the glass “for a few days until it can get fixed.” It ends up being a few months. Next thing you know, many of your businesses are complaining sales are getting worse. It becomes a downward cycle.

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A funny thing hit me the other day. I was reading some article or another about a group that was opposing the demolition of a building in a historic part of their town. (Unfortunately, it’s an all too common occurrence these days, which sometimes makes the articles blur together.) The funny thing wasn’t the protest or even the demolition. For some reason the thought of the demolition of part of Genesee Valley Shopping Center a few years ago jumped in my head.

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