Downtowns

Our Approach to Downtowns

Great downtowns fill cities with life. You can tell a city is healthy if it has a vital downtown full of public activity. In our work for downtowns, PPS helps spark revitalization by finding ways for this vitality to emerge. Our Placemaking approach goes beyond the typical downtown master planning process: It enables city staff as well as residents to focus on improving the places that are most important to them and build a planning framework around key actions. The process rejuvenates downtowns and catalyzes improvements by both the public sector and its private partners.

Imagine, for instance, a park bordered on one side by a commercial street and on another by a public library. These urban elements work together to form a single place, yet in a typical downtown that area would likely be managed by a number of public entities. Instead of a unified approach to the place, several different city agencies employ a piecemeal approach, each operating within the boundaries of its professional discipline.

But if we look upon these elements as interrelated components of a single place, we create more opportunities for local people and different public entities to jointly create a vision of what's best for the downtown. How can the street, park, library, and businesses support and strengthen each other? What do business owners, library employees, and residents envision for the area? By actively observing and listening to the people who live or work or play in the area, the answers to what the place needs will become apparent.