1. lead
national trust main street center®
h
revitalizing america’s traditional
business districts to build sustainable
partner
communities
empower

2. partner
why main street matters
We believe that a prosperous and
sustainable community is only as healthy
lead
as its core. BuilDing a movement
At the National Trust Main Street Center®, Through ongoing research on
we lead a coast-to-coast network of more emerging topics and in-depth
than 1,200 state, regional, and local pro- field engagement across the
grams, powerfully linked together through nation, the Center continuously
a preservation-based strategy for rebuild- synthesizes and disseminates
ing the places and enterprises that make best practices and new thinking
sustainable, vibrant, and unique that meet emerging needs in our
communities. Tapping the collec- communities. We are inspired by
tive wisdom of partners around the the grassroots successes of our
nation, we provide leading-edge network partners and strive to
thinking and analysis to com- support and share their innovative
munity leaders, while advocating solutions with comprehensive:
for change on state and national
policy levels.
main street four-point approach™
as a unique economic development tool, the main
street four-point approach™ is the foundation for
local initiatives to revitalize their districts by lever-
aging local assets—from cultural or architectural
heritage to local enterprises and community pride.
this comprehensive strategy fosters incremental im-
provements in four broad areas:

3. r
• professional training—to edu- National Main Street Network® development financing, and pro-
cate local leaders and practitio- membership services. viding timely information through
ners at our annual National Main our educational materials and
• technical assistance—to launch
Streets Conference, Main Street website: www.mainstreet.org.
new programs, engage volunteers,
Basic Training Institute, Certifica- build leadership, conduct market
tion Institute in Professional Main our commitment
analysis, and support local entre- to community
Street Management, as well as preneurship through our field staff at the national trust for his-
our year-round schedule of Main and partners.
toric preservation, main street®
is an integral component of
Street Innovation Lab webinars.
• national resources—to support the community revitalization
Department, which empow-
• network access—to best prac- local efforts by forging new part- ers individuals to use historic
tices and new research in the field, nerships, channeling real estate preservation-based development
published in our monthly journal strategies to revitalize neighbor-
hoods and commercial districts
Main Street News, as part of our
while protecting their unique
sense of place.
1
Economic Restructuring: re-
defines the district’s niche in
2
Design: targets infrastructure
and building improvements
3
Promotion: Focuses on au-
thentic community assets, with
4 Organization: builds a path-
way to leadership in local
the marketplace and sharpens that lay the groundwork high-quality image develop- efforts by launching commu-
the competitiveness of for a physical ment campaigns and events nity-based, volunteer-driven
existing businesses, transformation that will attract new shoppers, nonprofit entities that em-
while nurturing that will be visitors, and residents. power residents and investors
new enterprises both func- to collaborate for sustainable
that respond to tional and revitalization.
today’s con- attractive.
sumers’ needs.

4. where we work
Since 1980, more than 2,000 affiliated mented since
Main Street programs have been launched our founding
in 43 states through a unique partnership and demonstrates
structure with Main Street “Coordinating how revitalized
Programs.” Mostly at the state level—but districts can truly be an
increasingly at regional and citywide levels economic engine—creating jobs, expanding
as well—these coordinating partners pro- wealth, and building the tax base for each
vide the direct, ongoing support that has participating community. The National
set the standard for quality and progress Trust Main Street Center annually collects
nationwide. We are committed to building and reports these statistics as just one
“50 Strong” networks of programs operat- measure of effectiveness.
ing in every state in the nation.
While these reinvestment statistics are
We measure our results through the prog- important, numbers tell just part of the
ress of our network. The cumulative suc- story—civic pride, leadership development,
cess of the Main and community sustainability also increase
economic impact of main
Street Approach when local stakeholders join with national
street revitalization
and local Main partners to leverage their assets and build
financial reinvestment $45 Billion
(infrastructure and real estate improved) Street programs a future together.
Business expansion 82,909
(net new businesses created) has been docu-
Job creation 370,514
(net new jobs documented)
property improvements 199,519
(building rehabilitations completed)
Cumulative national results reported from 2,112 local
unleash
programs launched between 1980 and 2007.
potential By working with the National Trust Main Street Center,
local programs and partners can unleash the potential of
downtowns and neighborhood business districts and use
their unique assets to build sustainable communities.
to learn more, visit www.mainstreet.org, call
202-588-6219, or contact us at 1785 massachusetts
avenue n.w., washington Dc, 20036.
e
Front Cover photo: woman making purChase, ©Jet pabst