Why is Downtown Important?

This excerpt was taken from the National Main Street Program. 

Why is downtown important?  Can malls and discount centers take the place of downtowns in the future?  The answer is most definitely no.  Though malls and discount centers play important roles in our communities, downtown is much more than a shopping center.  It is critical for everyone involved in downtown revitalization to understand the value of downtown.  Here are some reasons why downtown is important (in no particular order). 

1. The central business district is a prominent employment center.  Even the smallest downtown employs hundreds of people.  Downtown is often the largest employer in a community.
2. As a business center, downtown plays a major role.  It may even represent the largest concentration of businesses in the community.  It also serves as an incubator for new business – the successes of tomorrow.
3. Most of the businesses in the downtown core are independently owned.  They support a local family who supports local schools, etc…  Independent businesses keep profits in town.
4. Downtown is a reflection of how our community sees itself – a critical factor in business retention and recruitment efforts.  When industry begins looking at our community as a possible location, they examine many aspects including quality of life.  Included I quality of life is interest in downtown – is it alive and viable, or does it represent local disinterest and failure?

Green Built LEED Guidelines

One of the LEED construction guidelines is to source all materials used for the project within a 500 mile radius of the project location.  This guideline was established to cut down on the carbon footprint used to transport materials from their point of origin or creation to the construction site.  It hardly makes sense to purchase “green” materials from another country or considerable distance when there is significant cost and carbon emissions released into the environment if the materials were transported 12,000 miles across the ocean for example. 

Sourcing materials locally is an important part of any “green” project.  Utilizing local resources also helps to feed the local economy on a broader scale.  Pulling from local material and labor sources is a part of building a sustainable community.  Building a sustainable community is a fundamental concern of ‘green builders.’