Creating a "people-watching" niche

Cafes as outdoor theater

From entertainment centers to food stores to apparel and home hearth niches, planner David Milder of DANTH, Inc. in Kew Gardens regularly gathers data for reports on the trends shaping downtown revitalizations.

On comparing the so-called "mommy niche" to tweens and teens, Mr. Milder writes that the latter, "do have a lot of discretionary dollars to spend and they love doing so. But, most of their money comes from their parents and during tough economic timestheir “incomes” and retail expenditures can dramatically decrease. This was demonstrated during our nation’s last recession. Furthermore, moms have control over the spending of many, many more dollars.

He also offers advice on things such as downtown friendly parking and how to create pedestrian friendly streets such as those he has seen on Church Street in Burlington, VT, as seen in the photo above.

"About a year ago, I was sipping an espresso outside of the Café de Flore on the Boulevard St. Germain in Paris, when I had an epiphany about downtown entertainment niches. In downtowns known for their truly urban flair, an informal type of entertainment takes place in which people, just by being themselves, entertain each other. This kind of informal entertainment seems to be maximized when a downtown can attract interesting people and provide opportunities for visitors to engage in casual activities that they enjoy and that engross and amuse observers.

"It occurred to me that Café de Flore was not just a dispensary of food and drink but also an important entertainment venue. Right there, a lot of things were grabbing my attention and amusing or moving me. Most of all, it was the people I could observe — those sitting at nearby tables, the pedestrians strolling by, the waiters, and even some car drivers displaying rather unique maneuvers."

On comparing the so-called "mommy niche" to tweens and teens, Mr. Milder writes that the latter, "do have a lot of discretionary dollars to spend and they love doing so. But, most of their money comes from their parents and during tough economic timestheir “incomes” and retail expenditures can dramatically decrease. This was demonstrated during our nation’s last recession. Furthermore, moms have control over the spending of many, many more dollars.

Read more from Mr. Danth, here.