Downtown Revitalization

KC Streetcar: A demonstration of the possible

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This month on Building Better Communities with Transit we’re joined by the Executive Director of the KC Streetcar Authority, Tom Gerend. In 2016, Kansas City, MO opened the first streetcar the city has seen in almost 60 years and transformed the city’s downtown. Former skeptics of the line are now some of the KC Streetcar’s biggest proponents as businesses have boomed and more people are moving to—and spending money in—the center city. The 2.2 mile KC Streetcar, akin to a downtown circulator, is “a demonstration of the possible.”

Core Values: Why American Companies are Moving Downtown

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This report examines the characteristics, motives, and preferences of companies that have either relocated, opened new offices, or expanded in walkable downtowns between 2010 and 2015. Smart Growth America partnered with global real estate advisors Cushman & Wakefield to identify nearly 500 companies that have made such a move in the past five years. Of … Continued

Putting Transit to Work in Main Street America

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How Smaller Cities and Rural Places Are Using Transit and Mobility Investments to Strengthen Their Economies and Communities In this report, the researchers have explored how smaller cities, towns, and rural places are integrating transit into their communities. This report seeks to elevate the emerging best practices in smaller cities and rural places where transit … Continued

Transit-Oriented Development and Employment

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The report discusses the relationship between transit and job concentrations and explains the importance of the destination side of the trip for both transit operations and land-use planning in station areas. It examines Atlanta, Georgia; Phoenix, Arizona; and the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul), Minnesota, to illustrate the patterns of employment concentrations and show … Continued

TOD 206: Intercity Rail and Transit-Oriented Development

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This booklet identifies some of the different steps cities and towns can take to create TOD around their intercity rail stations. It also offers some useful tools and examples of how cities of a range of sizes are utilizing their intercity rail stations to revitalize downtowns, preserve historic buildings, create connections to other forms of … Continued