ABSTRACT
Business improvement districts (BID) offer an innovation to the problem of urban commercial decline. The growing popularity of the BID concept lends some credence to the notion that they are effective agents of small business organization, promotion, and place management—at least to the many retail districts that have originated and sustained the concept over the past decade. BIDs represent a continuation of a trend toward the blending of public and private partnerships to affect positive economic outcomes. San Diego’s city government possesses several main organizing units for the pursuit of economic development: the Economic Development Corporation, and the Redevelopment Agency. The process for BID formation in San Diego is similar to that of other cities nationally; that is, 20 percent of merchants in a given district are required to sign a petition in favor of BID creation. The widespread development of BIDs in the United States has raised many important questions for policymakers and economic development planning professionals.
