Course Description

This course focuses on the physical and economic renewal of urban neighborhood Main Streets by combining classroom work with an applied class project. The course content covers four broad areas:

  1. an overview of the causes for urban business district decline, the challenges faced in revitalization and the type of …

This course focuses on the physical and economic renewal of urban neighborhood Main Streets by combining classroom work with an applied class project. The course content covers four broad areas:

  1. an overview of the causes for urban business district decline, the challenges faced in revitalization and the type of revitalization strategies employed;
  2. the physical and economic development planning tools used to understand and assess urban Main Streets from physical design and economic development perspectives;
  3. the policies, interventions, and investments used to foster urban commercial revitalization; and
  4. the formulation of a revitalization plan for an urban commercial district.
Learning Resource Types
Lecture Notes
Projects with Examples
Two artistic illustrations of gateways.
Vision for new gateways to Roslindale Village (above) and Jackson Square (below). (Image courtesy of the studio. Used with permission)