We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
Just Added: Can’t Miss Main Street Now 2024 Experiences
Register for Main Street Now 2024!
We are excited to announce details about this year's Main Idea session and a special screening of a new documentary–two experiences that you can only find at the 2024 Main Street Now Conference in Birmingham, Alabama, May 6-8.
Register today and join fellow commercial district revitalization leaders from across the country for three days of insightful education sessions, unique special events, immersive mobile workshops, and memorable experiences in the Magic City. From downtowns in rural places to commercial corridors in cities, the Main Street Now Conference offers time-tested approaches, new techniques, and opportunities to exchange ideas designed to help your team address pressing issues impacting your community.
Discounts and special rates are available to Main Street America members, civic leaders, and students. For additional savings, register by the early bird or regular online deadlines (outlined below).
Early Bird (by March 11*): $465 Member | $635 Non-Member
Regular (by April 26*): $565 Member | $735 Non-Member
On-Site: $775 Member, Non-Member
One Day: $399
Student: $200
Civic Leader: $199
Conference Merch
The official 2024 Main Street Now Conference t-shirt is available in unisex sizing and features a tribute to iconic BHAM landmarks, sites, and points of interest, plus conference activities that you can only experience in The Magic City.
Pre-sales end on March 11. A limited supply of shirts will also be available at the Main Street America booth in the Expo Hall. Add yours to your registration today!
Conference room blocks at the Westin Birmingham and Sheraton Birmingham hotels have reached capacity. We are working with both hotels to potentially add additional rooms. If you are interested in booking a reservation at these hotels, you may check the booking links periodically as rooms may become available due to cancellations.
To avoid uncertainty in securing accommodations, we highly recommend checking out room blocks that are available at the Redmont Hotel Birmingham and the Historic Tutwiler Hotel-Hampton Inn & Suites, each located within walking distance from the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex. Learn more about hotels and travel options here >
Session Spotlights
Shuttlesworth Documentary Screening and Q&A
Monday, May 6
Tickets: $5, includes lunch. Pre-registration required.
Join us for a special lunchtime screening of the critically acclaimed documentary, Shuttlesworth. Featuring exclusive interviews with Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, family members, and colleagues, the film examines Shuttlesworth’s crucial contributions to the Civil Rights Movement which, in turn, helped amplify the integral role that Birmingham played as the catalyst in propelling the movement onto the national stage. After the screening, we will be joined for a discussion and Q&A with producers, T. Marie King and J. Winston. Watch a preview of the documentary >
Main Idea Session with Dr. Mindy Fullilove
Monday, May 7
Included with registration.
We are excited to announce that Erin Barnes, Main Street America President and CEO, will host the Main Idea session with special guest Dr. Mindy Fullilove. In this fireside-style chat hear how well-designed, equitable spaces can create more connection to place and people, which can catalyze healing for communities that have experienced disinvestment. The Main Idea session is generously sponsored by the Philip A. Morris Fund for the Design Arts, a fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. Learn more about Dr. Mindy Fullilove >
Mobile workshops offer immersive learning experiences and unique opportunities to experience Birmingham and surrounding communities. Space is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Mobile workshops are reaching capacity quickly–add a workshop (or two) to your registration today! Keep reading for today's recommendations. Preview all mobile workshops here >
Food Sustainability in an Urban Area- Birmingham | Tour the Jones Valley Teaching Farm's community garden, farm center, and plots that community gardeners lease. Learn how the farm uses vibrant outdoor learning spaces and food as a foundation for creating opportunities for young people to lead, create, and grow a healthy future for themselves and their community.
Main Streets in Shelby County - Calera, Columbiana & Montevallo | Learn how these three cities have leveraged resources, fostered partnerships, and successfully implemented adaptive reuse projects to expand and promote public art, create festivals, and successfully blend diverse community identities to build vibrant business districts offering something for everyone.
Rebuilding Neighborhoods and Making Good Health Simple - Birmingham | Tour two Live HealthSmart Alabama (LHSA) demonstration zones in the city of Birmingham, Bush Hills, and East Lake. Hear from LHSA advocates and leaders, explore the improved facilities, and observe the Mobile Wellness Van and the Mobile Market in action.
The Power of Collaboration in East Alabama - Anniston, Heflin & Oxford | Explore three historic districts that are physically, financially, and culturally distinct. Learn how each city has invested in civic infrastructure projects that have increased foot traffic and spurred significant private investment, as well as civic pride.
Celebrate
Big Bash at Sloss Furnaces
Celebrate the closing of Main Street Now 2024 with a party at Sloss Furnaces, one of Birmingham’s unique historic landmarks. Join friends and colleagues for hors d'oeuvres, beverages, entertainment, and dancing while you immerse yourself in the Magic City’s industrial ironworks heritage. You don’t want to miss this Big Bash experience! Space is limited and tickets are selling fast. Purchase your ticket during registration or add it on to your existing registration by clicking the link included in your confirmation email.
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
Online registration and the regular rate are available through Friday, April 26. Download the conference mobile app, sign-up for the attendee webinar, grab some Shop Main Street merch, get recommendations, and more!
With just a little over a month to go until we convene in Birmingham, Alabama, for the 2024 Main Street Now Conference from May 6-8, we are excited to announce that the full schedule is available online and the mobile app is ready for download.
From budgets and staffing to programming priorities and the myriad of backgrounds that bring people to Main Street, the insights and key findings from this year's trends survey provide a snapshot of the state of the Main Street Movement.
REV Birmingham and Woodlawn United share how they work to reenergize spaces and places in Birmingham, Alabama, through civic infrastructure projects in the city’s historic commercial corridors.
With a specially priced registration rate of $199, tailored education track, free lunch & learn session, and abundant networking opportunities, Main Street Now 2024 is made for civic leaders passionate about community preservation and economic development in historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial corridors.
Opportunities to experience time-tested Main Street Approach techniques and creative solutions in action abound in Birmingham with these great excursions.
Starting in early 2024, we will engage in an intensive program assessment of MSAI. We look forward to bringing an enhanced Main Street professional development experience to the network later in the year.
Founded in 2003 and currently housed within the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan Main Street (MMS) recently celebrated 20 years of impact across 41 communities.
This three-week live, online course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship.
We are excited to share a recent collaboration with Spark! Places of Innovation, a traveling exhibition curated by the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.
We are excited to welcome Jenice Contreras to the Main Street America Board of Directors. Jenice has a long record of leadership across community and economic development with deep experience with equitable growth, small-scale development, and cultural preservation.
Join Main Street America experts in Vancouver, Wash., to gain first-hand experience in harnessing transformation strategies to successfully revitalize your Main Street!
We are excited to announce that 862 Main Street programs across the country have earned Accredited status, Main Street America’s top level of recognition.
The MSARP credential is the highest level of achievement offered through the Main Street America Institute, requiring dedication to completing a rigorous curriculum of online courses, readings, assignments, workshops, and a challenging final exam.
Over the course of three days, nearly 1900 Main Streeters from near and far gathered for dynamic educational sessions, immersive mobile workshops, and network-building activities.
Check out our new shop featuring clothing and apparel, accessories, home and office goods, and kids’ and baby items inspired by the Main Street Movement.
Main Street America is proud to recognize John Bry, Program Coordinator at Main Street Oakland County (MSOC) in Michigan, as the 2023 Mary Means Leadership Award recipient.
We’re excited to announce a new suite of resources designed for Main Street! The Main Street Foundations Series provides an overview of each Point through four comprehensive introductory videos, one-page guides, materials from our resource center, and more.
From the ongoing pivots needed to meet changing community needs to the timeless power of place, these are the most popular blog posts we published this year.
At the Opening Plenary at the Main Street Now Conference in Richmond, Virginia, Patrice Frey shared lessons and reflections from her past nine years at Main Street.
Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
A series of small, incremental improvements, when taken together, provide momentum for long-term economic transformation and improved quality of life in a community.
The National Main Street Center, Inc. announced the 2017 Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA) during its annual conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The National Main Street Center and the Brookings Institution have jointly authored a response to Mr. Hyman’s piece, The Reality of Main Street, that is featured on Brookings’ blog.
Michigan Main Street Center was the first Coordinating Program to implement the new Main Street approach on a large scale. In this article, they share their robust process and valuable lessons.
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Back in October 2015, we introduced the three key components of the refreshed Main Street Approach: inputs, outputs and Community Transformation Strategies.
For a lucky few downtowns, greatness may happen effortlessly with a strong sense of place that seems to develop organically and simply sustain itself. For most places, success doesn’t happen by chance.
While there have been over $1.2 billion in public and private investment in Wisconsin Main Street communities over the past 27 years, what really makes it special are the people and places that have been involved.
Although a “beach town,” Rehoboth Beach is open 365 days a year, and with that has the unique challenge of catering to both year-round residents and tourists within a wide range of ages, interests and economic levels
In communities across the country, hardworking business owners and buy local advocates come together to foster an organized effort to reinvent and revitalize Main Streets and downtown districts.
The National Main Street Center is pleased to announce that Cape Girardeau, Mo., Montclair Center, N.J., and Rawlins, Wyo. were selected as the 2015 Great American Main Street Award® (GAMSA) winners.