WINTER STRATEGIES AND IDEAS
FOR DISTRICTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
CELEBRATE WINTER!
Celebrate Winter by adapting businesses, winter-themed placemaking, improved snow management and other activities that can be experienced while social distancing and enjoyed in a downtown or historic neighborhood commercial district setting.
Dig in for ideas and best practices, organized within Main Street’s Four Points, for adapting traditional business districts to winter to help keep them economically viable during the global COVID 19 pandemic. Some ideas will also help Michigan communities foster an enhanced “winter culture” that can continue to provide benefits in coming winters and throughout the year.
MICHIGAN MAIN STREET
WINTER STRATEGIES
Organization
As with nearly all initiatives, partnerships, volunteer engagement and fund development activities will be critical to efforts for implementing winter strategies. Winter is coming — start planning now!
Design
Winter cities guidelines and best design practices found in the Appendix of the MEDC Winter Strategies Guide identify ways to better adapt communities for the winter season. Many can also be applied specifically to a downtown or neighborhood commercial district.
Economic Vitality
More activity in the district helps businesses. Communities and business districts need to be flexible, and promote pop-up businesses, retail activities, and other activity- and sales-generating opportunities.
Promotion
People will be seeking out places and activities that are safe and allow for socially distanced fun! Now is the time to launch a winter branding campaign and stage safe activities that will generate excitement, offer an escape to the magic of the holiday season, and promote commerce.
WINTER STRATEGIES GUIDE
MEDC Winter Strategies Guide [.pdf]
The MEDC’s Winter Strategies Guide provides ideas to make the most of winter’s opportunities and to create a culture shift so that your community is considered one of best places to live, work and play in winter and year–round.
MORE RESOURCES
Winter Tools and Resources
Visit the Resources Page for more Winter tools and resources.
The positive change in our community is directly attributable to the Main Street program. I believe it works because it gives the power and responsibility for making needed change to people in the community that want to make a difference. The Main Street program provides the structure and process to follow, not to mention the assistance and networking everyone gets from being a part of the larger system.
PROJECT PARTNERS
