Knowledge Center
Planning, Design and Infrastructure
The urban place manager emphasizes efforts on the built environment because of the significant impacts they have on the quality of life and one’s authentic experience of a place. Every place is different; therefore, place management strategies should respond to a myriad of place-based identifiers including, the place’s specific scale, status, culture, climate, community vision, goals, and mission, keeping at the forefront considerations of sustainability and resilience.
Through numerous approaches, such as land and real estate development, zoning and land-use, streetscape improvements, transit-oriented development, multi-modal connections, sustainable infrastructure, attainable housing initiatives and historic preservation among others, place managers enhance the quality of life for all stakeholders of a place.
Top Issues Council: Attracting Commercial Development
Attracting commercial development to an urban core relies on a multitude of factors to be successful. Some of the issues that need to work in tandem to create a platform for attracting commercial development include: a vibrant downtown, a user-friendly permitting process, available capital and land, infrastructure and ongoing management and maintenance. This report provides an overarching view of the evolution of urban retail throughout the past fifty years to the present.
Read MoreTop Issues Council: Prioritizing Pedestrian Improvements
In many ways, urban place management organizations such as business improvement districts (BIDs) continue to lay the foundation for pedestrian improvements by creating a clean, enjoyable environment for pedestrians. However, more effort is now needed to develop the infrastructure necessary to further capitalize on the trend of living, working, and playing in downtown areas. As global populations shift toward urban centers, the opportunity is ripe for downtown areas to improve walkability.
Read MoreAutonomous Cities – Reinventing the City Starting with the Street
As mobility changes planners should think beyond the vehicle. Built environment policy must evolve with mobility innovations. This presentation examies how to update the old concept of streetscapes with a less car-centric approach.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
Bikes, Brightline, and Mobility
This presentation discusses current trends regarding mobility of all kinds, their causes, and places to look for improvements.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
Growth Without Gridlock – Making the Case for Mobility Investments
To combat gridlock the first step is to improve and promote transportation alternatives to single occupancy vehicles. The presentation outlines transportation improvement strategies and plans from Palo Alto, San Jose, and Oakland.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
Resilience on the Street – Preparing for the Unexpected
Communities around the United States have been rocked by unthinkable disasters, realizing only after the fact that an Emergency Operation Plan may have helped mitigate losses. This presentation walks through the immediate and rippling economic and social effects of active threat situations.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
The Underline – Building a 10 Mile Greenway
Meg Daly, Founder of Friends of the Underline, shares her story of turning a crazy idea for a 10 mile greenway project into a reality. She walks through the community engagement process and gives her advice for demonstrating the project’s importance to the community and government partners.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
Urban Agriculture in Your Downtown
Urban farms are a beautiful and practical use of urban space, providing a number of benefits.
We’d love for you to see this member-only resource to help make a difference in your district. Make sure you are logged in or join IDA to learn more about how members get sh*t done!
Colorado Springs ULI/IDA Advisory Panel: Affecting a Downtown Reniassance
IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. This panel was tasked with creating a strategy for a downtown renaissance. The panel highlighted assets to leverage, identified challenges, and identified specific opportunities to execute high-payoff actions to focus time and funding on. The presentation details the panel’s findings and recommendations.
Read MoreDowntown Boise Associaton Advisory Panel: Strategic Visioning and Balanced Development
IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. This panel focused on tailoring an updated mission and vision for the downtown place management organization and provided recommendations on how to approach development moving forward. The report details the panel’s findings and recommendations.
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