Organizational Development
Urban Place has assisted over 33 downtown management organizations become leadership organizations by helping define their vision, mission, goals, organizational structure, board/staff relationship, as well as providing implementation plans and assisting with staff recruitment. Our work ranges from board retreats to long-term, in-depth analyses and restructuring of downtown corporations and their programs.
Our approach is to help organizations develop an understanding of their core ideology – i.e., why they are in business. This understanding provides the organization a solid foundation from which to lead, as well as the ability to make better decision on programs, priorities and promises.
Case Study: Central Dallas Association
Over the first 10 years that the Dallas Ambassador Program was in place, the program had changed very little. However, downtown Dallas had changed significantly. The Downtown Improvement District (DID) and Central Dallas Association hired Urban Place to bring the ambassador program up to speed.
After forming a team of downtown professionals to conduct a peer review, and at the conclusion of research and interviews, Urban Place recommended that the ambassador program be reinvented and refocused. This was important in order to change the perception of downtown as unsafe. A fresh start was needed, and the Ambassador Program needed to be seen as a brand new program, not simply minor changes to the existing program.
The result worked, and the new Downtown Safety & Hospitality Team has been very successful at changing the reality and perception of downtown as a safe place.
| Organization |  |
Location |
| Association for Portland Progress | Portland, OR | |
| Bellevue Downtown Association | Bellevue, WA | |
| Center City Partnership | Columbia, SC | |
| Central Business Improvement District | Clarksville, TN | |
| Central Business Improvement District | Nashville, TN | |
| Central City East Association | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Central Dallas Association | Dallas, TX | |
| Cereal City Development Corporation | Battle Creek, MI | |
| Chinatown Business Council | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Downtown Action Team | Albuquerque, NM | |
| Downtown Anaheim Association | Anaheim, CA | |
| Downtown Improvement District | Allentown, PN | |
| Downtown Las Vegas Partnership | Las Vegas, NV | |
| Downtown Lexington Corporation | Lexington, KY | |
| Downtown Property Owners Assoc. | Fashion District, Los Angeles, CA | |
| Downtown Santa Cruz Association | Santa Cruz, CA | |
| Downtown Seattle Association | Seattle, WA | |
| Downtown Special Services District | Bridgeport, CT | |
| Downtown Special Services District | Stamford, CT | |
| Downtown Stockton Alliance | Stockton, CA | |
| Downtown Tempe Community, Inc. | Tempe, AZ | |
| Figueroa Corridor Partnership | Los Angeles, CA | |
| Downtown Greensboro, Inc. | Greensboro, NC | |
| Highland Business District | Baltimore, MD | |
| Lancaster Alliance | Lancaster, PA | |
| Lansing Principal Shopping District | Lansing, MI | |
| Nashville Downtown Partnership | Nashville, TN | |
| Old Pasadena Management District | Pasadena, CA | |
| Operation New Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | |
| Portland Business Alliance | Portland, OR | |
| Riverside Downtown Association | Riverside, CA | |
| St. Louis Downtown Partnership | St. Louis, MO | |
| Sunrise Market Place | Sacramento, CA | |
| Town Green Special Services District | New Haven, CT |