ABSTRACT
The historic preservation movement in the United States is perhaps most visible in the historic downtowns that are increasingly desirable as places to live, work, and recreate. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (the Trust)1 has played a central role in this phenomenon by formulating a widely-emulated method for downtown revitalization known as the “Main Street approach.” Through this method, hundreds of communities have been empowered to address issues of disinvestment, decay, and ambivalence that have contributed to the decline of their downtowns by leveraging the power of historic resources and placemaking. The Main Street approach avails community volunteers a unique opportunity to envision and implement a wide variety of downtown design projects, from public art to streetscape redesigns and master plans. This chapter will explain how communities empower themselves through Main Street programs and the influence volunteers have over design projects that impact their downtowns. I will also discuss some of the controversial aspects of the approach, including charges of “Disneyfication” leveled against these programs and issues unique to volunteers in these programs, as well as the reasons why their efforts sometimes fail.
