The document discusses factors that contribute to the failure and success of downtown revitalization efforts. It identifies some common pitfalls that led to downtown decline, such as becoming too car-centric, investing in suburbs over downtowns, and lack of economic and housing diversity. Successful downtowns focus on mixing uses, authenticity, reasonable densification, transforming their economies, and reclaiming sidewalks as community spaces. Different types of towns may require different revitalization approaches tailored to their assets and roles within their regions.

1. Downtown Revitalisation:
Pitfalls for Failure and
Ingredients for Success
Xing Quan Zhang, PhD
Senior Advisor
UN-HABITAT
Email: Xing-Quan.Zhang@un.org
The 13th OECD Rural Development Conference, Building Sustainable, Resilient and Thriving Rural Places, 2022

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3. Downtowns Can Make or Break Urban and
Regional Development
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4. Why Did Some
Towns and Their
Regions Fail?
4
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5. Urban-Rural
Disparity
Per capita income in metropolitan
areas relative to their countries, 2015
OECD countries
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6. Detroit Email: Xing-Quan.Zhang@un.org 6

7. Decline
is Not
Natural:
The
Broken
Social
Fabric.
Source: http://urbnews.pl/detroit-zostanie-duzym-stopniu-zrownane-ziemia/ Email: Xing-Quan.Zhang@un.org 7

8. Why Did Some Downtowns Fail?
• They disconnected with their town fabric.
• Downtown Becomes Car-Centric.
• Investing in Suburbans, Divesting in Downtowns.
• Homogenous Neighborhoods Are At Risk of Failure.
• Difficulties with Small Town Economic Development. Lack of
economic diversification needed to spur growth.
• Lack of housing hinders growth.
• Small Towns Lack of Capacity for successful development efforts.
• Little Reinvestment in Buildings and Infrastructures.
• Disparities in Towns’ Tax Resources and Quality of Local Services.
• Geographic Areas with Severe Problems Expand.
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9. Konza City in Kenya
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10. Downtown
Becomes Car-
Centric
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11. Investing in
Suburbs,
Divesting in Cities
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12. Homogenous Neighborhoods Are At Risk of
Failure
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13. Depopulation of Rural and Small Town Development in USA
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14. Population Decline in Cities 1950-2000 USA
City Population
% Change
1950 – 2000
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Philadelphia 2,071,605 2,002,512 1,949,996 1,688,210 1,585,577 1,517,550 -26.7
Boston 801,444 697,177 641,071 562,994 574,283 589,141 -26.5
Chicago 3,620,962 3,550,404 3,369,357 3,005,072 2,783,726 2,896,016 -20.0
Detroit 1,849,568 1,670,144 1,514,063 1,203,339 1,027,974 951,270 -48.6
Cleveland 914,808 876,050 750,879 573,822 505,616 478,403 -47.7
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15. Population Increase in Metropolitan Areas
Metropolitan Area 1950 1960 1970 2000
Percent Change 1950
to 2000
New York-Newark-Jersey
City, NY 13,047,870 14,700,000 15,812,314 16,470,048 26.2
Philadelphia, PA 3,658,905 4,175,988 4,525,928 4,580,167 25.2
Boston, MA 3,065,344 3,357,607 3,708,710 4,001,752 30.5
Chicago-Gary, IL-IN 5,612,248 6,805,362 7,606,101 8,573,111 52.8
Detroit, MI 3,150,803 3,934,800 4,434,034 4,366,362 38.6
Cleveland, OH 1,640,319 2,061,668 2,238,320 1,997,048 21.7
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17. Difficulties with Small Town
Economic Development.
• Large retail strores like a Walmart
store in nearby towns showed
lower economic growth than
those without.
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18. Lack of housing
hinders growth.
• Lack of housing has left towns with large
numbers of vacancies in critical jobs including
teachers, police, and hospital workers.
• It's expensive to grow. To expand a city's
horizontal footprint means infrastructure: roads,
sewer and water systems, expansions to water
treatment capacity, fire hydrants, energy
utilities, broadband. These small communities,
looking for sites for new housing, are finding
that these costs are up front.
• If it is to overextend their infrastructure with no
capacity to maintain it in the long term.
• Can we rely on debt-fueled development and
subsidy as big cities do?
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19. Small Towns Lack of Capacity
for successful development
efforts.
• Size is merely an index for a variety of factors
that affect
• Small Town's ability to carry out development
projects is limited. The factors include the
leadership, availability of skills and knowledge,
financial resources, and etc.
• population growth, per capita income,
community wealth, and location.
• Small towns were often at a disadvantage to
larger towns in competing for development
funds.
• Traditional industry cannot save rural areas. It
can no longer to have a heavy reliance on
industry incompatible with the forces of
technological change.
• Small Business plays big roles in small towns.
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20. Small business
plays big roles
in small towns

21. How to Revitalise Town Centres?
• The Mix of Uses and Functions is Central.
• The Importance of Authenticity.
• It’s time to focus on communities, not commuters.
• Reasonable Densification of Downtowns.
• Economic Structural Transformation is the key to drive economic
development.
• Revitalising the market.
• Reclaim, Remake, and Reconnect Sidewalks as the Fundamental Backbone
of Small Towns.
• Make the most of local assets.
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24. Towns/Rual Regions Are Different
(typologies)
• Resource-Rich Regions
• Great Escapes and Tourism Attractions
• Rural Service Hubs.
• Distressed Rural Areas
• Suburban Areas of Large Cities
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28. European
Typologies of
Towns and Rural
Development
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29. It’s time to
focus on
communities,
not
commuters.
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30. Integrated
Communities
in Beijing
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31. Segregated communities
in Detroit
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35. Booming Demands
for/Drives Densification
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36. Density and Diversity of Activities in PRD towns, China
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37. The Services City • Densification of New York
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38. Shanghai vs New York
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39. Revitalise
Local
Markets
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40. Changing places,
changing spaces
• Making Streets Walking: better for business.
• Placemaking: Create Quality Space and Character.
• Make it accessible.
• Localism
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41. Mold Town in Wales
grow and maintain its
character
• a strong, vibrant and distinctive retail
mix
• retains the character and functions of a
traditional market town and draws
customers from a wide rural hinterland
and from across North East Wales and
North West England.
• Strategy to attract new, high-quality
retail and leisure outlets o
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42. Camden town, Maine
• The backbone of downtown Camden is its Main Street, with a nice
balance of space for cars and people. Because of this thoughtful
allocation of space, cars don't drive too quickly and sidewalks remain
social places for people to shop and hang out.

43. Creating a network
of special, small
public places

44. Need to Change the
focus from cars to
sidewalks
• Dominating intersections in Bristol, Vermont and Madison, Connecticut

45. Making the most of local assets
• Identify and build on existing assets
• Engage the community to plan for the future
• Create incentives for redevelopment, and encourage investment in
the community
• Encourage cooperation within the community and across the region
• Support a clean and healthy environment.
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46. Small Towns and Regional Development
• centres of demand/markets for agricultural produce from the rural region.
• centres for the production and distribution of goods and services to their
rural region.
• centres for the growth and consolidation of rural non-farm activities and
employment.
• attracting rural migrants from the surrounding region.
• managing natural resources
• Innovative local governance, partnerships and organizations significantly
enhance the capacity for community economic development.
• Defining assets and opportunities broadly can yield innovative strategies
that capitalize on a community’s competitive advantage.
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47. Thank you very much
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