Georgetown Place Leadership Project Survey Findings in the Washington Region
In the summer of 2022, the Georgetown Place Leadership Project conducted a survey to better understand the professional practice impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on place management organizations throughout the Washington metropolitan region. The survey was completed by over 20 diverse organizations in the Place Leadership Project’s network of place managers across the region, including BIDs, Main Street programs and other management organizations. This report summarizes the findings and insights gathered from the survey.
Responses were produced by the executive staff who are responsible for managing a variety of public spaces. Half of the respondents stated that they are responsible for one specific neighborhood or district while nearly one third described their responsibilities as overseeing a “large urban district with multiple specific places.” Just under one fifth of respondents stated they were responsible for just one specific place.
Managing streets and sidewalks are a central part of their management portfolio. Managing urban parks is another component of place that these organizations are responsible for.
Pandemic Impact Responses
The pandemic was impactful in changing the management practices of all of these place management organizations, presenting both challenges and opportunities. 15% of PMOs described the pandemic to be “empowering”, while 53% reported it as a “hardship.”
To differentiate how the pandemic has either improved or worsened the outlook of place management, respondents were asked to rank certain elements of their neighborhood. The table below describes the impact of the pandemic on different neighborhood features. Respondents had the chance to rank the impact from “much better” to “much worse.”
To no surprise, PMOs felt the most negative impacts associated with the newly vacated real estate and the impacts on retail businesses. The sense of personal safety in urban spaces decreased. However, community trust and civic engagement improved during the pandemic as PMOs increased their outreach and community engagement.
Looking more closely at businesses which were the hardest hit during the pandemic, a majority of PMOs witnessed the decline of demand in the hospitality and restaurant markets.
Pandemic Innovations
Many PMOs were faced with pivoting their traditional operations to focus on the health and safety of their residents and businesses. However, many of those management organizations used the shift in structure and leniency of policy to innovate in ways their neighborhoods or districts might not have ever had the chance to. We were interested to see how PMOs have adapted and innovated as a result of the pandemic and how those innovations will evolve into more permanent professional practices as we emerge beyond the pandemic’s health emergency.
Several responses from PMOs communicated the need for more services to be directed toward small businesses on all levels: business operations, financial assistance, workforce recruitment, funding and grant writing, and other services. Responses highlight the continued importance of sidewalks and pedestrian mobility as a backbone to advancing other placemaking initiatives.
