ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on topics related specifically to the process of planning for downtowns. In order to understand how developers, business owners, and new residents might be attracted to a downtown, planners must fully understand the downtown's real estate market and the area's economic dynamics. The components of a downtown plan related to physical enhancements are generally the most memorable and easily understood because they can be conveyed graphically, as opposed to financial incentive programs and similar revitalization strategies. The type of background information planners collect should be linked directly to the specific issues to be addressed in the downtown plan. The chapter evaluates the economic development and marketing plan of downtown in relation to the region's competing commercial. Market analysis describes a downtown's potential in terms of square feet of commercial space, number of housing units, acres of industrial land, or other measures, thereby linking directly to the physical planning process.
