Economic Development Exercise

The following is information that can be used for the Rivertown Economic Development exercise, found on page 138 of the book, Planning and Community Development, (Tyler and Ward, 2011).

The following plan can be used as an example of the type of report appropriate for this exercise.

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Prepared by: Student name

Rivertown City Planning Department

Date: _______________________

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Section 1: Problems Identified

The downtown district includes primarily retail uses but is adjacent to residential areas. Problems found in the district include

• Vacant retail spaces, especially in upper floors
• Deteriorated downtown buildings (e.g., Former Discount Shoes building; Rivertown Hotel)
• Severe shortage of parking for downtown businesses
• Traffic congestion resulting from narrow streets
• Little collaboration between downtown district and Biltmore Avenue commercial district
• No coordination of promotion of downtown businesses

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Section 2: Potentials

The downtown district includes features on which an economic redevelopment plan can be based. These sources of potential include:

• Historic character of the downtown district
• Proximity to city-owned riverfront
• Many older, stable businesses
• Walkable district, off heavy traffic Biltmore Avenue
• Railway building gives a strong focus to area
• Potential of Reliance College as a major resource
• High proportion of wealthy retired farmers in city population

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Section 3: Goals

The economic development goals for Rivertown include:

• Redevelopment of underutilized commercial properties
• Program to retain existing businesses
• Program to attract new businesses
• Better utilize resources of Reliance College
• Better accessibility to downtown district
• Develop Walden Pond as an urban amenity
• Plan for careful development of Biltmore Farmstead

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Section 4: Elements of the Economic Development Plan

To be written by the student(s) based on information in previous sections.