Why Downtowns Matter

 

When the Downtown Transformation Plan was launched in downtown Battle Creek, in 2008, People groaned aloud, “Oh no, not another downtown boondoggle.”  The problem with that well-worn attitude was that this plan really was fundamentally different.

 

For one thing, it emphasized and planned around expanded employment in the downtown.  A concentration of significant purchasing power in a compact urban setting ought to stimulate retail and service sector development. 

 

So, the repeated Kellogg investments, the Global Food Protection Institute, and Covance, among others, have put more employed people in downtown locations than I have seen in forty years.  Unlike previous downtown strategies, the Downtown Transformation Plan has a nucleus of strong purchasing power upon which to continue building.

 

I am not, now, going to go into some of the compelling reasons why we had to launch the downtown initiative, but like it or not, downtowns have a vital role in the life of American municipalities.  As we move farther into the 21^st Century, downtowns are rapidly regaining relevance as contributors to a community’s idea generation processes and contributors to the local economy.

A former Mayor of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, once said it most succinctly, when he observed that, “Downtowns are the signatures of their communities”.  That observation put downtowns in the community growth equation.

 

Downtown is that part of the community with which the outsider is most likely to experience their point of first contact.  As the point of first contact, downtowns have a powerful shaping influence on how those outsiders may see the rest of the community.  Thus, it is important that downtowns be safe, clean, and accessible.

 

So, if the health care system is trying to recruit a specialist or a company is trying to recruit a scientist, the downtown will play an important role in how these potential residents see the rest of the community.

 

There has always been a place in the human mind for a central gathering place where information is shared, news is passed on, and people gather for events.  This concept has advanced a long way from the community watering hole to a 24/7 downtown where human activity is omnipresent.

 

Battle Creek has a long way to go, but one can easily argue that the downtown is in the best shape in years and well positioned with a thematic development theme around food protection and safety.  These are areas where Battle Creek has a tremendous strategic competency, given the area’s continuing strong association with the food production sector.

 

The addition of the Math Science Center will send another positive message to the outsider that education is valued in Battle Creek.  The addition of students in the downtown, already an important part of the downtown mix, continues to pump a youthful element into the urban redevelopment matrix.

 

When one contemplates the grim numbers about the declining numbers of physicians or math teachers or science teachers, Battle Creek needs as many saleable assets as it can muster.  Downtown is becoming the genuine face of the community. 

 

That face could be even more refreshed and appealing if the community could get its head together on what to do about blight.  Even though I am now far removed from those discussions these days, I cannot help but think that a lot less blight and a lot more green space would complete the circle.