Economic Restructuring Specialist
Michigan Main Street
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
A collective can be defined as a group of people that share, and are motivated by, a common interest. This definition does not incorporate any economic benefit or savings, such verbiage belongs under the definition of a cooperative. For sake of this posting, I’m looking at social and communal equity versus the sole desire to make money.
A group of people with a common interest…sounds like a community - in particular its downtown. Historically, pioneers gathered in small communities for social interaction and strength in numbers. Humans are inherently social creatures, often founding a church at the start, and reinforced by the pack mentality of sharing risk and protecting one another. We recognize that each person, possessing a desired skill or specialty, benefits the whole through proximity and like-desire to survive. In the early days, downtown was a collective based upon the interest of survival.
Hmmm…the more things change, the more they stay the same. I would argue that contemporary downtowns are still in that fight-for-survival mode. Global flattening has increased the competition from that of the neighboring village, to that of the village in a neighboring country or beyond. It’s not about competing with the merchant down the street. Local competition produces choice, which is a primary factor in attracting customers. Your local mix, your local collective, is an asset that must be embraced and strived for above all else.
Each downtown is unique, with its own retail and service mix. However, it’s the people that are the REAL uniqueness in each community. It’s their desire to be there, their love for their community and all it has to offer; it’s their sharing of that common interest, a downtown interest. The Main Street philosophy is about the collective community, about the collective downtown. There is an economic basis to the 4-Point™ approach, but it comes from reinvigorating the passion and motivation of the people.
Your downtown is a unique collective of merchants and service providers, residents and non-residents, and all are critical to the ongoing survival of your community. Identify and embrace communal assets, build upon them, foster pride and passion around them, and spread the word regarding your uniqueness. Be the best
From collective pride will come collective success…
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5 comments:
"A collective can be defined as a group of people that share, and are motivated by, a common interest. This definition does not incorporate any economic benefit or savings, such verbiage belongs under the definition of a cooperative. For sake of this posting, I’m looking at social and communal equity versus the sole desire to make money."For those of us who lived through the Cold War or are students of 20th Century history, the terms "collective" and "social and communal equity" raise spectral associations with Communism and totalitarianism - not the bustling economic vision of successful places like downtown Plymouth or Depot Town in Ypsilanti.
This Designated Conservative strongly suggests that the correct term to describe the inter-dependent nature of downtown businesses remains as it was in the 19th Century - a "cooperative."A "cooperative" involves the joint activity of two or more entities for a common purpose or benefit, such as cooperative advertising between independent businesses, or a jointly owned commercial enterprise (usually organized by farmers or consumers) that produces and distributes goods and services and is run for the benefit of its owners. This is a far more accurate description of the positive economic interactions that can occur between downtown businesses than is offered by the term "collective."
Designated Conservative-
Thanks for your feedback. I can assure you Mr. Koenigsknecht's comments were not an endorsement of a totalitarism or communism. I believe his point was more of a "rising tide lifts all boats" than anything else. More importantly, I believe his comments highlight the experience we've had working with communities all over the state in which business owner after business owner work towards an overall goal of revitalizing their downtown. They do this not just because it will make them more money (which it will and should), but because they believe it is "the right thing to do" for themselves, their fellow businesses, and fellow citizens.
-Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Mr. Borgstrom,
I would be willing to bet that Mr. Koenigsknecht is under 30 years of age, and has little or no memory of the Reagan Administration. I mean no disrespect towards him for this; it is only to say that terms like "collective" hold little malice for Americans who came of age after the Berlin Wall fell and the USSR disintegrated.
I didn't mean to imply that he was advocating for Communism at all - only that his choice of terminology has unintended meaning that he was not aware of....
So Joe,
Are you breaking the rule from your blog posting on E-Critics with this response? Reading Designated Conservative's blog he definitely seems like one of those negative people who spends all his time making negative comments on most every article he can find (to paraphrase you). Was this an exception to your rule/suggestion?
BVos-
First, thank you for reading (and paying attention) to our blog. My response to his post (as yours) was simply to clarify. Had his post been on a newspaper website, I probably would have never seen it as I tend to ignore those sections (as I suggested in my blog post). However, his response was on our blog, which I moderate. I took the time to clarify what was said. While I am not a fan of people who don’t leave their names on a post, he did respond respectfully and further clarified his response. Had his response been belligerent or name calling, I certainly wouldn’t have posted it or responded in any way. Being a moderator allows that ability. It’s important that while we do moderate comments and may not agree with everyone who responds to our blog, we certainly do not shy away from an intelligent discussion.
- Joe Borgstrom, Director
Specialized Technical Assistance
& Revitalization Strategy Division
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
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