External Relationships

Sub Topics: External Relationships

Taking Action in Public Safety & Community Health Planning

Place management organizations often employ public safety and law enforcement systems as the primary mechanism for response to low-level crimes in their communities. In recent years, calls for defunding and decreasing law enforcement’s response to low level crime has left a service gap for place management organizations. This presentation examines the nuanced role and opportunities BIDs can take on to manage gaps and tackle these issues.

How BIDs Collaborate with Their Cities

Three different BIDs relate how they work with their cities on both day-to-day and project-based economic development. Learn how each BID has created its own working relationship with key city leadership, and how they work together on everything from business attraction to project formulation.

Kevin Plummer Master Talk

Kevin Plummer is the Immediate-Past Chairman of the Tampa Downtown Partnership. Formerly, Kevin served on the Board of the Executive Steering Committee of the Friends of the Riverwalk. He is a 13-year member of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, and oversaw six years of educational space renovations particularly with local architects Holmes Hepner and Associates and iConstructors, turning roughly 65K square feet of renovated space into active learning environments.

Project Spotlight: Engage Your Community

The Longest Table has welcomed local Grand Forks, North Dakota residents to sit down for a free meal in a welcoming environment with people they may not have known, to foster stronger connections, exchange stories, discuss community challenges and spur civic innovation. The Longest Table has been successful in engaging underrepresented populations in important civic conversations; providing everyday citizens with tools to be active participants in creating the community they want to have.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Placemaking: Reimagining How Business Improvement Districts Use Their Power

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become an even more important and timely issue in 2020 for many cities and organizations. We have an obligation to look inwardly at ourselves, our organizations and at our peers who, knowingly or in ignorance, perpetuate systemic racism and inequality. During this time of necessary and overdue reflection, we will discuss how BIDs and other place management organization can reimagine the way they use their power.

One National Voice: An IDA Canada Roundtable Discussion

Three years ago, after great encouragement by six Canadian Board members, IDA generously funded the BIA/BID/BIZ/SDC community of Canada with sufficient funds to create IDA Canada. Its mandate was to draw over 500+ associations together to speak with a clear and united voice to Ottawa about issues and opportunities of importance to BIAs across the country. Please join IDA Canada for a report about progress made and a discussion about the next steps. This will be an open-forum discussion.

Bruce Katz Master Talk

Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Previously he served as inaugural Centennial Scholar at Brookings Institution and as VP and director of Brooking’s Metropolitan Policy Program for 20 years. He is a Visiting Professor in Practice at London School of Economics, and previously served as chief of staff to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs.

Main Street Grand Forks: The Longest Table

For the past two years, beginning in 2018, the Longest Table has welcomed local Grand Forks, North Dakota residents to sit down for a free meal in a welcoming environment with people they may not have known, to foster stronger connections, exchange stories, discuss community challenges, and spur civic innovation. Through conversations with strangers around the table, attendees are encouraged to listen attentively, share openly, consider thoughtfully, and dream big.

A New Future for I-35: Urban Land Institute Panel

The project, undertaken by the Downtown Austin Alliance, builds on the Texas Department of Transportation’s plans to reconstruct Interstate 35 through the downtown core. I-35 is an immense highway with a deep, complicated history; a structural barrier that has caused division in our community for decades. Our project aims to enhance TxDOT investment, making the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity by creating a shared community vision that will improve quality of life.

Top Issues Council: Municipal Partnerships – A Toolkit for Municipal & Urban Place Management Organization Relationships

The Municipal Partnerships Top Issues Council examined the fundamental nature of working relationships between UPMOs and governments to identify the best practices for producing the most beneficial and enterprising partnerships. The report is a useful toolkit for understanding the scope and breadth of these relationships, including case studies and sample agreements from organizations around the globe.

Eliminating Redundancy: Interlocal Agreements to Define Roles

Downtown El Paso’s interlocal agreement, which is similar in content and format to the agreements signed between different public agencies, is renegotiated every five years, providing an opportunity to re-assess existing programs or address new problems. The final document is what Downtown El Paso Executive Director Joe Gudenrath calls “a give and take” between the City’s and the BID’s priorities for downtown on projects ranging from community outreach and marketing to sanitation.

Empower Collaborations and Partnership Between Municipalities and BIDs

IDA’s Municipal Partnerships Top Issues Council examined agreements and best practices to identify the factors that enable true partnerships between a municipality and a place management organization. Learn about collaborative approaches BIDs and municipalities have taken to strengthen their relationships. See tools for creating champions, breaking silos and structuring agreements.

Engaging the Edges: Working Across District Boundaries

Our experience of a downtown doesn’t follow the clean boundaries of a BID or other district, and yet our charge as place managers is often defined by these hard edges. How can downtowns engage with adjacent neighborhoods to create more successful, thriving districts? Drawing upon lessons from three cities, participants will leave with a toolkit of strategies for anticipating common issues and seizing opportunities for working beyond their boundaries.

The Lower Polk Tenant Landlord Clinic

The Lower Polk Tenant Landlord Clinic is an innovative homelessness prevention program serving the historic Lower Polk district of San Francisco, CA. The clinic’s primary mission is to help vulnerable residents save their homes by avoiding eviction. Known affectionately as “TLC,” the program brings together a coalition of experts in myriad disciplines to address the diverse needs of the target at-risk populations. In its first year of operation, TLC helped 87 people save their homes.

Tactical Public Realm Guidelines

The Tactical Public Realm Guidelines came from the Public Realm Plan for Go Boston 2030. The guidelines cover policy and opportunities for enhancing the streets. A Better City and Utile worked with the City of Boston to develop guidelines for tactical activation. Utile created a document which also includes a guide for implementing outdoor elements. The new standards are aimed at making the process simpler and more transparent, in order to actively invite participation from neighborhood groups, businesses, and others.

Commonwealth Canal Promenade

The Commonwealth Canal Promenade was a key revitalization component to Chandler’s long-term redevelopment plan. The project included clearing oleanders and palm roots, re-establishing the flow line and concrete lining, and constructing a canal promenade. Other improvements included an art fence, railings with historic information panels, a courtyard, landscaping, lighting, drainage and roadway reconstruction. Collaboration with all involved parties ensured the project’s successful completion.

Garment District Rezoning

The Garment District Alliance, which represents Midtown Manhattan, recently played a leading role in a plan that culminated in a New York City Council vote in December 2018 to remove a neighborhood zoning overlay, releasing millions of square feet of space from outdated, use-restricting regulations. The Alliance’s budget will be increased by $2.5 million for ten years to fund programming that improves quality of life and economic vitality for all in the area.

Alley Gallery

Alley Gallery is a program created by the Louisville Downtown Partnership (LDP) to bring under-recognized spaces back to life, enlivening dingy single and double metal service doors with artwork created by metro-area artists. More than 300 potential public and private doors in the target area are candidates for the program. Participating property owners are provided with access to a Dropbox featuring existing artwork by local artists from which to choose.

Dhyana Quintanar Solares Master Talk

Dhyana is the Authority of the Public Space of Mexico City. Before that, she was the Director of Transportation Planning and Roads in the Secretary of Transportation and Roads of Mexico City. She has been involved in various urban sustainable mobility projects working from the public and non-governmental sectors for over 10 years. She was Director of Strategic Projects at the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy in Mexico (ITDP) where she promoted pedestrian and bicycle mobility.

Kate Joncas Master Talk

Seattle Mayor Murray named Kate Joncas Deputy Mayor of Operations in June, 2014. Previously, Kate had been the President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association since 1994. Kate has over 30 years’ experience in downtown revitalization in the private, public and nonprofit sectors in communities around the world. Ms. Joncas is the Past Chair of the International Downtown Association.

Former Mayor Edwin Lee Master Talk

Before passing in 2017, Edwin Lee was an American politician and attorney who served as the 43rd Mayor of San Francisco, and was the first Asian American to hold the office.

Tim Tompkins – San Antonio

Tim Tompkins has been the President of the Times Square Alliance since 2002. The Alliance is a business improvement district that works to improve and promote Times Square – cultivating the creativity, energy and edge that have made the area an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life for over a century. Prior to coming to the Alliance, he was the Founder and Director of Partnerships for Parks, which works to support New York City’s neighborhood parks.

Neighborhood 360°: Planning for the Future of New York City Commercial Districts

In order to begin the deployment of what is now known as N360°, SBS developed a strategic public-private partnership with LISC NYC and Citi Community Development, aided by technical assistance from Larisa Ortiz Associates, to develop an assessment tool and analytical framework — a “Commercial District Needs Assessment” (CDNA) — that would help SBS to engage community partners in evaluating existing conditions and identifying needs of a commercial district.

Social Service Outreach and Ambassador Services: How to Effectively Address Homelessness with Existing Ambassador Services

This “how-to” session explores strategies and tactics that have worked in cities like Reno, NV and San Francisco, CA. Learn how one downtown designed their ambassador services to effectively deal with homelessness, and discover and effective model to communicate and work with multiple city departments and community benefit districts that was developed by one city’s Police Department.

Envision Downtown: A Public/Private Partnership Advancing a Downtown Pittsburgh for All

While retaining its traditional role as the major jobs center for Western Pennsylvania, downtown Pittsburgh has grown in prominence as a cultural, dining, and entertainment destination and seen the rapid growth of its residential population. Despite this evolution, the physical infrastructure systems of downtown –roadway, parking, bus, and pedestrian– have not kept up with the increasing and changing demands placed on them.

San Antonio 2017 Bond Process -Creating Places. Connecting Us.

Centro San Antonio convened a group of volunteers to look at a different approach to the traditional method the city used to identify and select bond projects. The mission of the group, the Catalytic Bond Committee, was to develop recommendations and then champion the compelling and catalytic projects with a potential to both transform downtown and materially impact the entire city.

Hamilton NOSH

A week-long celebration of Hamilton’s culinary scene, NOSH, took place during National Small Business Week from October 17 to 23, 2016. The response by the culinary community was overwhelming, chiefly because of the massive embrace by traditional media and those on social media. NOSH produced more events than anticipated, generated a massive amount of positive exposure for the city, and drove sales to participating businesses.

Inside Downtown Delray Beach Video Series

The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority (DDA) launched their “Inside Downtown Delray Beach Video Series” to highlight the unique attributes and authenticity of downtown. The business owners, residents and visitors, also known as the “faces behind the spaces,” were given an opportunity to express what they love most about downtown. Conveying vibrancy, activity friendliness, and walkability in the marketing and PR messaging was crucial to sustaining and growing Downtown Delray Beach.

Scioto Greenways

Rarely do you get a chance to completely change the way people view a city, but the Scioto Greenways project did just that, both literally and figuratively. The revitalized Downtown Riverfront project, which was led by the Columbus Downtown Development Corporation (CDDC), not only provided a new view of the city, it also created a renewed sense of civic pride and excitement about the possibilities of the riverfront.

Fanshawe College Downtown Campus

In 2007, negotiations began between the City of London, Ontario and Fanshawe College to offer a significant amount of financial incentive to purchase and retrofit heritage buildings in the core. Fanshawe College agreed to bring 1,000 students into the downtown and phase one resulted in a retrofitted building on Main Street. The college also purchased a second building, but lacked funding to complete the move. The BIA stepped in to fundraise on their behalf and meet the university halfway.

Downtown Design Standards Management

In 2001, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (DFWI) championed the creation of the Downtown Urban Guidelines. In 2016-2017, these guidelines were updated and strengthened by DFWI and City of Fort Worth and codified as the Downtown Urban Design Standards and Guidelines. DFWI led the effort with City staff and members by drafting the guidelines, facilitating discussion and ushering the program through City Council approval.

More Awesome Now Laneway Project

The people of downtown Vancouver wanted a connected series of activated alleyways that are welcoming spaces with hidden gems to discover galleries, restaurants, and art walls. Between April 2016 and September 2016, DVBIA worked with the city to obtain permits, developed partner agreements, did construction, and launched the laneway. The More Awesome Now Laneway project was referenced in city council’s approach to creating a new places and spaces strategy for downtown.

Downtown Topeka Public Space

The Kansas Avenue Project is a collaborative effort to address infrastructure replacement and topside enhancements responsive to improving the quality of place and encourage reinvestment and business activity in downtown Topeka. Public and private partnership raised $3.8 millon toward the creation of pocket parks, pavilions, fountains, arches, medallions, statues and state symbols that add to the beauty and appeal of downtown Topeka.

The 360 Plan

In partnership with the City of Dallas, Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI) developed The 360 Plan, a five-year comprehensive and strategic plan for a clear, cohesive vision for downtown’s future. To achieve this vision, Downtown Dallas 360 set forth specific, implementable actions that support Downtown’s long-term vibrancy and success, including transit, streets, public spaces, urban design, housing, and parking.

LIT CITY Baltimore

In 2016, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore set its sights on Preston Gardens, a green space in Downtown Baltimore positioned between the upper and lower lanes of St. Paul Street, a major artery into the city. With many projects underway, including new color-changing LED lights in the tunnel, the Marketing & Communications team brainstormed events that would engage and excite residents. The team had the idea for a party in the gardens, and it became a massive success!

Top Issues Council: Partnerships for Urban Place Management

The work in this guide focuses on defining public-private partnerships, exploring the categories of such transactions through case studies, analyzes the current state of these partnerships in relationship to urban place management organizations, and looks at the unique challenges that these organizations face. This guide shares best practices and case studies from a diverse set of cities.

South Side Pittsburgh Advisory Panel: Mission Update and Solving Community Challenges

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 creating a strategic framework for the South Side Local Development Company, assessing the viability of an improvement district, and providing expert insight on best practices for economic vitality. The report details the panel’s findings and recommendations.