A mural with orange flowers (peonies? poppies?) and green foliage along its borders. Stretching from left to right & across the center of the image are a pair of forearms, with their hands clasped; and the message, “Unity is Strength” painted in bright blue.

Detail from left edge of mural: green foliage, orange flower.

Detail from center of the mural: clasped hands, surrounded by blossoms and foliage, upon which the message, “Unity is Strength” has been written in bright blue cursive.

Downtown, Vancouver WA, USA: a vibrant & favorite mural, visible from Washington St. Hard to photograph cuz of cars, dumpsters & the like : (
#Murals #PNW
#VancouverUSA
#Downtowns
#Unity #Community

Evant Elks - Old buildings in the downtown of the small town of Evant, Texas.

#texas #centraltexas #downtowns #smalltown #photography

2026 IDA + CDA Place Matters - International Downtown Association Registration is now open for IDA + CDA Place Matters in Long Beach, CA.

Our Managing Director of Real Estate Carolyn Choy will be speaking at International Downtown Association’s 2026 IDA + CDA Place Matters! Carolyn will join the breakout session “Securing Downtown’s Creative Future,” which focuses on how Creative Land Trusts.

#CreativeLandTrusts #Downtowns

Text Shot: Despite their diverse backgrounds and unique characteristics, these locations share several key strengths. They all offer programming designed to attract both locals and visitors, bringing significant attendance spikes for specific events. They leverage location and design to boost their appeal. And they are dedicated to filling a critical human need in an era of increasingly divisive politics and fraying community bonds. “The importance of designing and maintaining public spaces that cultivate social connectedness and civic engagement cannot be overstated,” said Brooks Rainwater, ULC’s president and chief executive officer.

With Roles as Civic Hubs, Libraries Turn Over a New Page www.bloomberg.com/news/features/… #libraries #hubs #downtowns

How Shops Can Help Revive City Neighborhoods Big urban shopping malls and office-supported retail are out. But authentic urban bookstores and catalogue stores are in.

#Retail shops are in decline in many places, but in some situations they can still help revitalize #cities and #downtowns. But to be successful, the retail must authentic and intentional. My latest on Substack. #urbanplanning #urban #futureofwhere

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-shops-...

Vital City | The Retail Reckoning Why New York has too much ground floor commercial space — and what to do with it

🛍️ New piece in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social written with Sulin Carlin: The Retail Reckoning: shorturl.at/ePO8t

While national retail is recovering, city ground floors tell a different story. Here we explore what city leaders can do about it.

#urbanretail #VitalCity #downtowns #policy

The Pop-Up City Conventions and conferences create a constant flow of Burning Map-type events in downtowns. They are a critical part of the post-COVID "future of where" for cities.

Conventions and confereences create temporary Pop-Up #Cities in #Downtowns all across the country. They're not exactly Burning Man, but they are lively, crowded, and an essential part of the post-COVID cities #urbanplanning #npc25

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/the-pop-up...

How Sunbelt Downtowns Can Thrive They have some advantages that older Downtowns don’t have. But the challenges, including competition from other activity centers within their home regions, are immense. Here’s what they can do.

've been spending more time in #Sunbelt #Downtowns -- especially in he #Southwest. Got me thinking about how they have more opportunities than other downtowns -- and more challenges. #futureofwhere #Substack #cities #urbanplanning #Phoenix #Albuquerque

futureofwhere.substack.com/p/how-sunbel...

Is your community all about big game hunting or are you investing in #entrepreneurs, nontech #startups, #smallscalemanufacturing in your #economicdevelopment strategy as part of your #realestate strategy for #vacantstorefronts?
Ya - I have some thoughts on that.
#smallbusiness
#downtowns
#mainstreet

Vacant Storefronts Are Killing Our Downtowns. Small-Scale Manufacturing Can Help. Op-ed: Restaurants and gyms aren’t the only options for downtown office buildings with empty retail space.

A bit more about what I do: #vacantstorefronts, #realestate, #smallbiz, #businessdevelopment, #entrepreneurship, #cre, #downtowns, #neighborhoods, #mainstreet, & making great places. Wish Next City was here to give them a shout out, bc this is another piece from their platform!

Excellent article that intersects with my particular flavors of interest - #downtowns #Entrepreneurship , main streets and revitalization. We don’t need bigger mega cities. We need to cultivate fertile soil for the next ones....