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There is a new buzz word in the battle against urban decline and vacant retail space—“pop-ups.” Simply put, a pop-up is a short term use of a retail space. Sometimes they come in the form of holiday stores, which close down after the season, while Target and other large retailers use them to promote specific products or lines.  Urban development initiatives, however, have begun to use pop-ups as a tool to reinvigorate declining shopping districts and main streets by changing perceptions of the neighborhoods they open in and demonstrating to potential investors and entrepreneurs the value of investing in these communities.

Pop-ups fill under-utilized retail space, and often feature works of local craftspeople and artists. They also may feature community outreach and events that bring community members together and encourage new collaborations.  Pop-ups not only serve the immediate neighborhood, but often draw visitors from surrounding zip codes, providing an opportunity for an entire business district to attract new patronage.

The September/October edition of Main Street Now, the bi-monthly magazine of the National Trust Main Street Center, includes a center piece article on pop-ups, detailing a number of projects across the country, strategies for implementation, and their impact on the community. One of the pop-ups featured, the Mt. Pleasant Temporium, ran from February 18 to March 13 and was directed by Partners’ senior program officer Jessica Scheuerman, with Partners’ Liz Bieber coordinating special events and Brian Miller directing marketing.

The Temporium was made possible by a grant from the DC Office of Planning’s Temporary Urbanism Initiative, which funds pop-ups across the city. The Main Street Now article highlights some of the strategies that brought success to the Temporium such as recruiting arts organizations and other partners that have ties to local artists and other potential vendors or that provide marketing opportunities.

For more on the Mount Pleasant Temporium, please visit:

http://mtptemporium.com

or contact Jessica Scheuerman at:

jscheuerman@livable.org

More than a decade since the release the innovative original, Partners for Livable Communities announces the release of the second edition of its Community Empowerment Manual (preview copy). Expanded and reorganized by former staff member, Carly Grimm, the new edition builds on the tried-and-true approaches to community development showcased in the original, and invigorates the document with new case studies and a new section that helps readers better understand the challenges to livability—aging population, deteriorating infrastructure, and declining local economies—that exist in American communities.

Free preview here. 

Purchase Print Edition

($10, available in orders of 10)

In the recent online poll, conducted by Outdoor Magazine, Chattanooga was recently voted by readers as the top choice in the “Best Town Ever” contest of 2011.

The Maturing of America—Communities Moving Forward for an Aging Population was co-released in June 2011 by: National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, MetLife Foundation, International City/County Management Association, American Planning Association, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and Partners for Livable Communities.

Due to the financial consequences from the Great Recession, many US communities have been unable to make significant progress in preparing to meet the needs of the country’s rapidly aging population. The Maturing of America—Communities Moving Forward for an Aging Population, a follow-up to an extensive survey conducted in 2005, reveals that at best, communities have managed to maintain the status quo for the past six years due to the decline in the overall economy and local government budgets. This report, funded by MetLife Foundation, also reveals that, despite the challenges, important advances have been made including increase in specialized training for emergency and public safety staff in dealing with older adults; growth of in-home supportive services; greater support for advanced education for the workforce; and expanded volunteer opportunities. Even so, with millions of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, these advancements are nowhere near the level of progress needed to ensure that communities are livable for people of all ages.

Click Here for the Maturing of America II Executive Summary

Click Here for the Maturing of America II Full Report

This document builds on the planning and research efforts that were reported on at the 2010 M. Powell Lawton Conference on Urban Aging and serves as testimony to the agenda's current success. It is intended to outline the reasons behind the initiative, highlight current collaborations, and provide opportunities for new involvement.

Click here to read the report online.

Click here for a printer-friendly version.

This year, the first of the Baby Boomers turn 65. But this milestone birthday may not be so eagerly celebrated, as our nation realizes the drastic impact this huge generation will have on our communities. Six years ago, the first edition of  “The Maturing of America,” a report undertaken by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging with groups representing local governments and city planners, found that most communities were not properly prepared for the impact of an increasing aging population: the age 65-plus population is expected to double by 2030.

Undoubtedly the turn of the 21^st century has been a crossroads for communities across America. Planners are becoming more uncertain of which road to take to towards livability, the latest and most thought out models of revitalization being thrown into disarray by constant redevelopments in technology and the unforseeable factors that mediate the outcome. But as the unfolding of the digital age propels us into the unknown, there is one thing that is certain—education is a key to building a more vibrant and sustainable community.