Recycling Main Street
Besides benefiting residents and drawing in visitors, our downtown main streets can also be good for the environment. Main Street consultant Kennedy Smith explains.
Kennedy Smith
Kennedy Lawson Smith is a principal with the Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, a consulting firm specializing in downtown economic development.
She joined the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center in 1985, and in 1991 she became its director, a position she held for 13 years. During her tenure, the Main Street program was widely recognized as one of the most successful economic development programs in the US, expanding to a nationwide network of almost 2,000 towns and cities.
Kennedy wrote a series of articles on downtown development for the Planning Commissioners Journal between 2005 and 2007. She is a popular speaker on retail development policy, commercial district development, and historic preservation issues
Most Recent Articles
Wanted: Downtown Grocery Stores
As Americans’ taste for downtown living grows, so does their appetite for downtown grocery stores. So, why is it still rare to see a grocery store downtown? Economic development consultant Kennedy Smith provides some answers.
What Makes A Town Center A Town Center
PCJ columnist Kennedy Smith highlights the importance of building character and individuality into new town centers.
The Supreme Court’s Kelo Decision: Good News or Bad News for Downtowns?
Can local government take private property away from its citizens and develop it for something that will generate more tax revenue? On June 23, 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court said “yes.”
Downtown Hurdles
It should be no harder to develop downtown than elsewhere. Yet, as PCJ columnist Kennedy Smith argues, too many regulatory hurdles often face downtown development.
Sizing Up Downtown
How do you size up the health of your downtown district? Kennedy Lawson Smith offers some insights.
Why Downtowns (Should) Matter to Planning Commissioners
Noted national “main street” expert Kennedy Lawson Smith makes the case for why downtown should matter to planning commissioners and others..
