What is Elm Street?
Noting how the Pennsylvania Main Street Program’s integrated approach to revitalization had helped the Commonwealth’s downtown and urban corridors, an observant state legislator proposed that the state try a similar integrated approach for the older neighborhoods around “Main Street.” Colleagues enthusiastically agreed and passed legislation unanimously. Governor Rendell signed the Elm Street Act in 2004.
The Elm Street Program was created to strengthen the older historic neighborhoods that characterize many of the Commonwealth’s communities, such as the Old Allentown Historic District. Too many of them today are beset by lower property values, a negative image, and perceptions of poor public safety. While Main Street Programs have made positive changes in older downtowns, most downtown revitalization programs (including Main Street) have had little impact beyond the borders of downtown into adjacent neighborhoods that historically served as Main Street’s core market. Main Streets that are surrounded by declining neighborhoods continue to struggle despite hard work on the part of the downtown advocates. This situation is not unique in Pennsylvania.
The nation’s older neighborhoods have, since World War II, traditionally experienced disinvestment, out-migration, the aftershocks of urban renewal, and more. These challenges to their vitality have left a swath of damaged communities that are no longer functioning well or, in turn, contributing to the health of nearby downtowns. During the last thirty years or so, however, grassroots leadership has emerged in neighborhoods once written off. Residents and institutions like churches have refused to give up. Many have organized community development organizations, such as non-profit housing corporations like the Old Allentown Preservation Association, and made a real difference. Whether organized or waiting for action, these “core communities,” made up of the downtown/Main Streets and their nearby neighborhoods, constitute a relatively untapped asset and together are the heartbeat of Pennsylvania’s cities, towns, and boroughs.
Elm Street aims to improve the situation of Pennsylvania’s residential neighborhoods while linking revitalization efforts to those in adjacent/nearby Main Streets/downtowns. With the long-established Main Street Program as a model, the conceptual approach underlying the Elm Street Program has learned from some 40 years of experience by many successful and not-so-successful neighborhood revitalization programs throughout the nation. The Elm Street Program is structured around simultaneous actions in five focus areas, integrated through a community-based strategic planning process. The elements of the so-called “five-points approach” include:
The Elm Street Approach is intended to operate in parallel cooperation with existing downtown or commercial corridor revitalization programs, including the Pennsylvania Main Street Program, which just recently added the 7th Street Corridor to its list of participants. In this way, connections between healthier neighborhoods and more robust business districts can be strengthened.