The significance of Downtown Revitalization and Small Business

Talking with Daniel - a Master's Urban Planning student

Our society is obsessed with numbers. We judge things on their size and reach, and not so much on their quality. We often find ourselves measuring success through towering buildings, sizable investments, or venue capacity. This fixation extends to how we view small businesses. In the heart of our communities, local businesses operate on a different scale.

These quaint shops, cozy eateries, and neighbourhood coffee houses measure their success in the strength of community ties, the loyalty of their customers, and their contributions to local vibrancy.

My work includes downtown revitalization and focusing on building Main Street vibrancy. A focus of downtown revitalization is 'place-based', connecting to people. The goal is to transform our downtown into a realm of extraordinary experiences and hospitality, creating an 'experience economy', while building out a complete mixed-use neighbourhood.

I work with partners to provide a variety of tools and frameworks for tactics, creating a sense of place through experiences and focusing on people, building a downtown destination. This includes tactical urbanism projects with grassroots community groups, building year-round programming with partners, and arts investments with industry partners in creating a "Cultural District". It is important to continuously invest in adding value to our downtown, being the heart of our community.