Saving Cities: The Role of Historic Places in a Successful Economy

The UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio hosted a discussion about the economic impact of historic districts and the opportunity presented by Saint Paul's historic infrastructure. The discussion kicked off with an introduction by Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and was followed by a presentation from Kennedy Smith, co-founder of the CLUE Group.

Kennedy Smith is one of the nation's foremost experts on commercial district revitalization and development, independent main street businesses, and economically and environmentally sound community development. She is co-founder of the Washington DC-based Community Land Use and Economics (CLUE) Group, a private consulting firm that blends downtown development, land use management, and historic preservation disciplines into a cohesive approach to solving community development challenges.

Kennedy presents case studies from cities throughout the nation who have turned historic districts into a thriving part of their urban economy. Marianne Combs then turned the discussion specifically towards Saint Paul and explores how these models may be applied locally.