BUILD MAIN STREET USA'S POLITICAL CLOUT

BUILD MAIN STREET USA'S POLITICAL CLOUT:
It will give you the power to turn nightmares into dreams.

Road construction can be the death of Main Street merchants, but it doesn’t have to be...

Make contacts in government and influence the major road reconstruction project before it is designed.

Turn disruption into holistic urban revitalization.

Rebuild the road with bike lanes, wider sidewalks and safer pedestrian crossings.

Make sure the community has a strong voice in planning human-scale improvements such as shade trees, public art and beautification.

Work with a university architecture class to get free designs for streetscapes, facades, pocket parks and community gardens.

Leverage non-profit and grant dollars to fund storefront improvements, street furniture and landscaping.

Push government agencies to provide expedited plan review and permitting to speed up these holistic upgrades.

Blocks of urban beauty can be built when everyone is on the same page.

Editor's Note: Thanks again to the great artist and thinker Richard Medlock for inspiring us the think of everything from Christopher Alexander's Pattern Language to Krome Avenue (Homestead FLA's Main Street USA) in forming our urban values.