Events are a long-standing tool in every downtown’s marketing tool kit and are taking on a new importance in a post-COVID world. Whether your district has “bounced back” or is still assimilating to a WFH world, events and programming can start conversations, reposition brands and most importantly – drive foot traffic.
Presentation
Type: Presentation
Economic Benefits to Implementing Arts & Culturally Informed Activations
As part of COVID revitalization efforts, three unique programs were created in downtowns across the country –Seattle Restored (Seattle), Arts on the Ave (New York), and Pop-Up to Storefront (Austin) – that activated spaces with arts and culture at the forefront to boost local economies. Explore each program’s implementation and economic impact, tracking strategies that can lead to diverse small business retention in downtowns.
Diversifying District Revenues Through 501c3 Nonprofits
Diversified revenue streams are critical for robust, sustainable and successful place-based management districts. Many place-based management organizations maintain a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity. However, only some maximize the potential of creating vibrant districts through a comprehensive philanthropic strategy.
Authentic Marketing & Return to Downtowns
With the proliferation of social media and the ever-changing cultural dynamics, people are seeking authenticity and tune out promotional messaging. How do we find the right balance between promoting our districts and businesses while being authentic about the place? And add to that the challenge of reaching young professionals – a critical component to return to downtown.
Transforming Downtowns by Leading a Comprehensive Market Analysis
Spur development in your district with data and by leading collaborations with stakeholders to develop a strategy to build what their respective districts deserve. Walk away learning how to conduct a comprehensive market analysis for your district and how to use it to spur investment, development and recruitment by making it accessible to everyone.
“Boom Loop” through Public Realm Visioning and Collective Action
Guided by the “first of its kind” Public Realm Action Plan for Downtown SF, the Downtown San Francisco Partnership (DSFP) began designing and launching physical and programmatic improvements to reinvent how people relate to and use this historic – yet underappreciated – economic center.
Building Inclusivity – Cultivating Housing Production by First-Time or Low Wealth Developers
Inclusivity in downtown housing is usually framed as a question of who can afford to live in the finished product. But development is entrepreneurship, and for inclusive entrepreneurship, we think more about who’s selling than who’s buying. Who is pioneering strategies to nurture an inclusive pipeline of entrepreneurial new developers who come from marginalized communities and backgrounds? What can we learn from this work?
How Partnership & Collaboration Produces a World-Famous Farmers’ Market
Get a glimpse of how successful partnerships come together to produce the award-winning Downtown SLO Farmers’ Market. Learn how you can leverage partnership opportunities with your city to support a vibrant downtown environment. Learn more about identifying City resources, realizing the financial benefits of working together, and empowering partnerships in order to provide your community with the best experience possible.
Winning the War on Talent: Recruitment & Retention
Who’s Afraid of Missing Middle Housing, A Play in 3 Acts
Financial Best Practices for Small Budget BIAs/BIDs/BIZs
Scalable Innovations in Placemaking
(Re)Designing Yor Organization’s Retail Equity Program
Keeping Downtowns Safe with Public-Private Security Camera Programs
Neurodiversity and Your District
Legacy Highways in Our Downtowns – What Do We Do With Them?
I (Incentives) to Z (Zoning) Solutions for Recovery
Amplifying Culture to Boost Local Economic Development
Advocating for BIDs from within City Government
We’re in the Money – 501(c)(3)s & Earned Revenues
Sustaining Place Management Organizations – A Community Engagement Foundation
Looking to form and launch a place management organization? With a focus on community collaboration, this presentation provides the experiences of three professionals who have taken the leap to form new sustainable urban PMOs.
Tomorrowland
Many small communities struggle with how to differentiate themselves to attract visitors. Learn how two downtowns took inspiration from their history to look toward the future and create interactive storytelling programs and a roadmap for the future.
Seed Funds
Seed Funds are revolutionary financing tools that help cities implement urban plans using local investors. By sourcing, deploying, and incentivizing local allied capital, cities and their BIDs, DDAs, etc. can promote collateral implementation.
Your Airport is Critical to Your Healthy Downtown
Learn about effective partnership opportunities for your downtown to attract not just the business traveler, but the increasing number of domestic and international travelers.
Facilitated Forum: Board Members
Gain insight into everyday challenges of Board Members at Place Management Organizations.
GLOWing Downtowns
Light art festivals and interactive art installations are popping up all over the world. Illuminate the “how-tos” of creating public art experiences to differentiate your district, increase visitors and generate quantifiable metrics.
Creating a Layered Approach to Community Safety & Visitor Experience
PMOs have begun to create layered approaches to public safety, which seek to fill the gap between no response and emergency response to quality-of-life issues, focused on how community safety can be developed through engagement and ambassadorship.
Innovative and Compassionate Solutions to Working with our Unhoused Neighbors
Learn how different districts in North America are addressing the humanitarian crisis of homelessness with intention and how your PMO peers are responsive to stakeholder concerns while compassionately working to meet the needs of our most vulnerable.
Engaging the Media
Learn from about the evolution of local media ecosystems and the power of proactive relationships with journalists. Clarify the differences between earned, paid, and owned media with examples of proactive, reactive, and earned media.
Proving Your Value: Measuring & Reporting
Reporting is a hot topic for many PMOs, but consolidating data into informative formats is challenging. Identifying key metrics, and managing data spanning various departments is critical.
Importance of Aligning Values Organizational & Individual Values
People are at their best when their work is aligned with their values. Organizations are strongest when they clearly communicate their values to their community. When the team is united with the values of the organization, it’s sheer magic!
Placemaking & Operations Gone Wrong!
Learn from numerous practitioners working in the areas of placemaking and operations when their best laid plans just didn’t go the way they wanted.
The Surprise & Delight of Placemaking
Placemaking and activations can take many shapes and forms. Join this session to learn from seasoned professionals with a wide range of experience activating public spaces. With a focus on producing unique urban experiences and animating streets, parks, and public spaces, these panelists work to create opportunities for pedestrians to engage with public art, performances and events. Learn about their audiences and how they determine when and where to produce different activations
Principals & Practices of Operations
Operations in place management covers a wide scope of work from cleaning and maintenance to providing on-street services addressing safety and quality of life issues. For new professionals to be successful in their role as operations staff they need to have an understanding of building and running a successful operations program that caters to the unique challenges and opportunities in their districts.
Place Management After Dark – Nightlife Challenges and Opportunities
An entertainment district means foot traffic, economic development, amenities and a unique set of challenges. Many districts – large and small – are developing new strategies to engage with their nighttime economy in terms of operations, placemaking and security. Come learn from experiences in Denver, Austin and Minneapolis to gain insights into managing a successful, safe and fun district.
Essentials of Placemaking
Learn the basics of how place management professionals can facilitate placemaking in their work to engage communities and foster vibrant, inclusive and authentic places. Learn practical definitions, identify the “why”, explore goals and strategies, discuss community-led processes and co-creation, recognize opportunities for financial and in-kind contributions, and apply the right tools for the project and/or program
Essentials of Economic Development
While clean and safe and placekeeping activities remain a strong part of almost all place management organizations, many have begun to focus on building strong and relevant economic development programs specifically addressing the challenges facing downtowns. Often, economic development is not about progressing from simple to complex…it’s finding the niche in your community that can best fill and deliver solid results to stakeholders.
Incubating Entrepreneurs
No longer just about catching the big fish, the next wave of economic development is about developing local talent and building capacity from the ground up. Startup businesses are breaking new ground but need a supportive ecosystem to flourish; whether tech, retail or micromanufacturing – community matters. Incubator programs can provide the foundation needed for entrepreneurs to build powerful partnerships, preserve capital, access funding, and share resources and facilities.
Measuring the Economic Impact of Events
Everything a place management district does supports its community, but how can we measure the impact of our efforts? In this session, a multidisciplinary panel of experts share insightful case stories around measuring success. From defining quantifiable objectives, to identifying the right metrics, technologies and means of measurement, see examples of how different sizes of districts use data collection to demonstrate a return on investment for their communities
Navigating the Return to Office – What Can Downtown Managers Do?
We’re still evolving the ways we live and work, and the issue of return to the office has had a lingering and profound impact on the future of our cities. While there is no one size fits all solution to the challenges the evolving office sector is having on our downtowns, there are proactive steps and an important role downtown managers can play. Explore a range of trends, challenges, and potential solutions to address a wide range of issues no matter the size or make-up of the downtown.