Downtowns
and Small Towns
Throughout
Florida, the downtowns and small towns are where Florida is happening.
You can see the re-birth, experience the sense of place, and feel the
energy of community in these locations. There are thriving businesses
and the hustle and bustle of activity and interesting people. Each downtown
or small town has its own story to tell. Nevertheless, the vitalization
of these areas does not occur by accident. For many years community
leaders and planning professionals have dedicated significant
time,
dollars and effort to build vibrant downtowns. Now it's time to shine
the spotlight on those areas through a VISIT FLORIDA tourism marketing
and promotion effort - a new Florida tourism product that 1000 Friends
of Florida supports!
Today,
vitalizing downtowns is a most important change occurring throughout
Florida. With residential population booming and smart, efficient lifestyles
providing a multiplicity of choices, downtowns and small towns represent
an important new state dynamic. Correspondingly, many of these awakening
downtowns and small towns play a part in controlling suburban sprawl.
They satiate the urge of young singles and older empty nesters to re-locate
from the suburbs to places where they can engage in active and interesting
social lives or resume post-family-raising personal growth in sophisticated
arts and cultural communities. Further, given through the day-to-day
activation of many downtowns and small towns, Florida's visitors are
taking notice and are drawn to where the local residents go, live and
enjoy.
To be economically
smart, Florida must market and promote these areas for tourism. Thus,
a multi-year tourism development and marketing program promoting Florida's
downtowns and small towns is underway to increase the visibility, visitation
and therefore increase direct positive economic impacts. The Downtowns
and Small Towns initiative is envisioned to reinforce revitalization
efforts currently taking place, in addition to promoting a legitimate
new tourism product promoting the unique art, historical and cultural
districts and of course, involving residents, retail, dining, lodging
and entertainment establishments. As well, the initiative is intended
to define and establish our downtowns and small towns as the gateway
or portal from which to explore and enjoy the surrounding area. Downtowns
and small towns as portals serving as the base camp from which to initiate
a host of short trips to the surrounding hinterlands with the later
return for the enjoyment of the downtown sophistication and nightlife.
This marketing
initiative only serves to expand the depth of diversity of the Florida
vacation experience while also becoming engaged with advancing real
Florida interests. When tourism marketing directs visitors to these
new downtowns, small towns and their tangible natural and heritage resources,
it speaks to the importance of tourism's contribution in economic development.
Tourism in this service adds to free-market efforts enhancing the vitality,
job creation and lure of downtowns, thus encourages in-fill that advances
downtowns and helps slow suburban sprawl. It's the cities of dynamic
turnaround that will capture market attention.
The desired
program objective for 1000 Friends would be to establish several multi-year
pilot projects to continue the earlier work in the Florida Panhandle
and northeast Florida. 1000 Friends would like to explore the use of
the Downtowns and Small Towns approach within the context of the sub-regional
focus areas. A number of example areas have emerged from our work in
the State involving: (1) The Apalachicola basin with the cities of Apalachicola,
Chatahoochee and Mariana serving as the principal regional small towns;
(2) The Eglin Air Force Base and Blackwater River State Forest sub-area
with Pensacola and the neighboring communities of Milton, Bagdad and
possibly Crestview serving as the downtowns and small towns; and, (3)
the lower St. Johns River sub-area with Jacksonville and Mayport and
Atlantic Beach serving as the downtowns and small towns. Other possible
sub-regions and associated communities abound and the hope would be
that successful pilot projects would translate into a model approach
for other communities to follow.
Thisinitiative
provides a demonstration of tourism marketing being more fully engaged
with state processes than ever before and, accordingly, justify securing
greater public funding than before. This program would match and support
current state efforts, connecting with all of the other programs, and
further leveraging the funding, human and financial resources to better
assist many of our Florida communities.
See:
Visit
Florida's Downtowns & Small Towns Forum
Downtowns
& Small Towns Concept Paper
