Reimagining Cities-Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLACE: PLACE MANAGEMENT, SAFETY, THE RETURNOF FOOT TRAFFIC, AND HOMELESSNESS

The Reimagining Cities research primarily focuses on economics, including real estate valuations, public sector revenues, GDP and similar metrics. While these metrics are crucial for understanding the revitalization or decline of our cities, they do not represent the complete picture. A major benefit of WalkUPs—reflected in the name—is their ability to encourage people to walk around in public spaces, whether they’re commuting, shopping, attending sports and entertainment events, or meeting with friends or colleagues. The pandemic diminished these benefits, as fewer people ventured out, initially because of health concerns, but more enduringly due to declines (real or perceived) in vitality, increased vagrancy and heightened risk of crime. This section examines how “place” is managed in WalkUPs across our 15 sample cities and explores how different types of WalkUPs are currently handling place management, crime, foot traffic and visitation, and homelessness. ENHANCING THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE Place management organizations represent the fifth level of governance in American society, operating at the hyper-local level. 76 The five levels of societal governance (largest to smallest in scope) are: national/

federal, state, metropolitan, city/county/ town, and place. According to the International Downtown Association, the trade group for place management, there are 2,500 place management organizations, primarily business improvement districts (BIDs), in the U.S. and Canada. 77 Place management organizations in American cities are typically nonprofits established through state legislation in 46 states and the District of Columbia, starting in the 1980s. City governments usually serve as the implementing authority for the establishment of place management organizations. While most are officially called BIDs, they might also be named community improvement districts (CIDs), Main Streets or other names, depending on the state. All place management organizations have some type of self-taxing mechanism to fund ongoing operations and, occasionally, capital investments. The funding mechanism tends to be an increase of between 5% to 10% of the assessed property tax. The primary focus of place managers is to create clean and safe WalkUPs. Place managers may also organize and manage events like farmers markets and festivals, engage in economic development, attract tenants and provide services for the homeless. More ambitious place

76 A to Z of Business Improvement Districts. Project for Public Spaces, 2009. 77 https://downtown.org/about-the-industry/

54 Cushman & Wakefield