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Tag: webinar

CMSC Webinar – Using Public Art for a More Vibrant and Welcoming Community

When public art is supported and implemented thoughtfully and strategically, it adds tremendous cultural, aesthetic, and economic value to a community.

It facilitates a sense of place and community pride. It can encourage civic engagement and build social capital through raising public awareness of important local issues and connecting residents to their neighbors and their shared history.

In this webinar, you’ll be inspired to think differently about and incorporate public art in your communities. Our panel from around the country and Connecticut will speak to innovative public art programs that provide economic impact and create more inclusive communities.

  • Learn about Connecticut’s Office of the Arts new public art programs and how to take advantage
  • Hear how a Connecticut placemaking organization employs diverse artists to beautify, bring positivity, and spark economic vitality in neighborhoods through public art
  • Learn how a winter light festival brings in 189,000 visitors in the dead of winter and contributes $3.7m in economic impact while activating typically overlooked neighborhoods
  • Hear how communities are using music to drive economic development and ordinances you can implement to support a music economy

Meet the Panelists

 This event is free, but registration is required

This event is approved for 1 credit for certified planners
With thanks to our AICP Certification Maintenance Provider FHI Studio.

CMSC Webinar: Supporting Small Businesses on Main Street

We all know small businesses are the lifeblood of Main Street, but are we giving them the support they need or actually want?

Supported by Main Street America’s 2022 Small Business Survey, we’ll review the findings and highlight the top three types of support small businesses want: incentives & financial support, increased district-wide marketing & promotion, and stronger organization of businesses in the area.

Learn how to take these findings and create effective programs to support your small business.

  • Implement a façade improvement program that energizes vacant spaces and encourages new business starts
  • Strengthen your district branding to change perception, involve everyone, and engage new partners
  • Upgrade Merchant Meetups with informal storytelling events that bring the business community togethe

Meet the panelists:

This event is free, but registration is required.

This event is approved for 1 credit for certified planners
With thanks to our AICP Certification Maintenance Provider FHI Studio.

CMSC Webinar: How to Fill Vacant Storefronts

JOIN US FOR OUR EXPERT-LED WEBINAR

Every Main Street will face vacancies from time to time, and COVID only exacerbated this challenge across Connecticut and the country. Not only are persistent vacancies detrimental to creating and sustaining a vibrant downtown, but they also have a negative economic impact on the community.In this webinar, our presenter Ilana Preuss – international speaker, and fierce advocate for creating great places and small-scale manufacturing – will share:

  • Innovative approaches to filling vacant storefronts from around the country
  • Programmatic ideas to collaborate with property owners
  • Long-term solutions to keep storefronts full by supporting local small business ecosystems

This webinar is approved for 1 CM credit for certified planners. 
With thanks to our AICP Certification Maintenance partner FHI Studio.

Register here


About the Presenter

Ilana Preuss is the founder and CEO of Recast City and the author of the new book “Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing.”

Preuss’ passion for great places grew out of her experience working with small and large cities all over the country when she led the technical assistance program at the U.S. EPA Smart Growth Program, and as the Vice President & Chief of Staff at Smart Growth America. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Studies from Cornell University and a Masters of City Planning from the University of Maryland.


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