RMA - Central Business Districts:  Measures of Success

To develop strategies for central business district success, the project team will conduct the following research:

1. Economic, demographic and geographic data will be collected through the Census and other secondary sources on medium to large exurban places within Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
2. Statistical analysis will be performed to form typological groupings of the places based on attributes, such as population size, proximity to urban areas or highway access.
3. Additional analysis will be performed within each typological grouping to identify successful retail and service economies for each group.
4. The strategies for success will further be investigated through semi-structured interviews with community business and political leaders of the places previously identified. Additional secondary data, such as the spatial configuration of businesses, may also be used to gain an understanding of what community attributes lead to successful central business districts.
5. Van Wert, Ohio will be used within a comparison study to evaluate the validity of the projects results and implementation.

CURRENT STATUS - Currently we are in the fourth stage of the project with May as the goal deadline for conducting the interviews and organizing all information related to the interviews (3/11/8).