David Dixon Delivers Featured Keynote at Future of Small Cities Institute
Updated: 10 hours ago
Dixon explored how walkable downtowns and Main Streets can attract talent, expand housing opportunities, and drive economic revitalization in small and midsize cities.
David Dixon, FAIA, delivered the keynote presentation at the Future of Small Cities Institute’s 2023 Winter Dialogue in Troy, New York, on March 9, 2023.
His keynote, “Main & Main: At the Intersection of Imperative and Opportunity,” explored why cities of all sizes face the shared challenge of reinventing their downtowns to be the primary bridge to a burgeoning idea economy, paired with the ability to tap unprecedented downtown housing demand as the primary building block for shaping downtown’s new future.
Drawing on his extensive experience guiding urban transformations across North America, Dixon examined how walkable, mixed-use places can connect community aspirations with new opportunities for growth for cities large and small.
Connecting Main Streets with Economic Opportunity
Dixon’s presentation explored how smaller city downtowns, anchored by once-lively Main Streets, can translate a potentially transformational downtown housing market—driven by the rapid growth of households without children—into a new generation of mixed-use housing with retail lining Main Street that reclaims downtown as the heart of its city and invites a new generation of residents—many of whom bring with them the education and skills to attract idea industry jobs and investment.
“Walkable downtowns and Main Streets can help small cities attract talent, expand housing choices, and turn new investment into lasting community value.” — David Dixon, FAIA
Building on Local Character
Dixon’s keynote emphasizes the value of building robust new public private partnerships (P3s) that bring local government, developers, and banks together to unlock the ability redevelop vacant parking lots or retrofit upper floors for housing that in turn brings new life to local retail and to Main Street. Why focus on local? Because the folks who make up the community know stakeholders, the values, small retailers, traditions—the list is long—that connect Main Street’s past and present to its future.
