My Afterward on Main Street Retail’s Next Paradigm Shift in Main Street’s Comeback
Starting in the 1990’s, Downtown and Main Street districts (DMSD’s) finally happened upon a successful formula — centered on patina, texture, craft and intimacy – for returning to a position of relevance, thereby kickstarting a renaissance that has lasted a quarter-century. And while the pandemic landed a gut punch, it could not eliminate the basic human needs and desires that attract people to such places. However, while this has been proven out in the four years since COVID-19’s arrival, DMSD’s will need to keep innovating in order to stay ahead of the curve, as suburban centers increasingly co-opt and perfect the cultural forms that first emerged there. The public/non-profit sector and community stakeholders will have to embrace without fear (or overregulation) the evolutionary process that can bring us that next iteration of new concepts, formats and experiences. After all, the whole point about paradigm shifts is that most people never see them coming. Mary Means was one who did, back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, as co- founder of the national Main Street movement which has been so influential across the country in the decades since. She memorializes the history and expounds on the continuing importance of what would become known as the “Main Street Approach” in her book, Main Street’s Comeback: And How It Can Come Back Again (Hammodwood Press, 2020). Given her seminal role, I was honored when she interviewed me as part of her research and then asked me to pen one of the volume’s “Afterword” sections. So thank you, Mary, for everything that you have done — and continue to do — for the industry. And for giving me this platform to add my two cents.