The Economic Benefits of Public Space Activation

Downtown Cleveland is home to 24 parks and plazas. In 2022, DCA animated these public spaces with 320 events and activations across 158 days, or 43% of the year. These ranged from large scale events like the kickoff to WinterLand on Public Square and the MetroHealth Juneteenth Freedom Fest on Mall C, to smaller events like Walnut Wednesday and Lunch in the Lane. Other than being a fun way to bring the community together, what do these activations bring to the area? In this blog series, we will explore the economic, health, and community impacts of public space activation as well as opportunities for public policy to support the enhancement and activation of public spaces. 

Superior Hill

When we think of public space, our thoughts tend to gravitate towards large green spaces or plazas, but according to the American Planning Association: “A public space may be a gathering spot or part of a neighborhood, downtown, special district, waterfront, or other area within the public realm that helps promote social interaction and a sense of community. Examples include spaces such as plazas, town squares, parks, marketplaces, public commons and malls, public greens, piers, special areas within convention centers or grounds, sites within public buildings, lobbies, concourses, or public spaces within private buildings.” 

Quality public spaces that are regularly activated with programming contribute to the type of environment that attracts residents, workers, and visitors, increasing the customer base for local businesses and encouraging people to spend time Downtown. Below are data-driven examples of public space enhancements and activation strategies that ultimately drove further private investment both in other cities and here in Cleveland. 

Economic Impact in other Cities 

During the early days of the pandemic, many cities facilitated outdoor dining to help restaurants cope with pandemic related occupancy caps. This included creating temporary expansions of outdoor dining areas into the public realm. In Toronto, over the course of 13 weeks $181M was spent in parklets by patrons. Only $3.7M would have been generated if those spaces remained parking spots. The patios generated 49x more revenue than the parking spots would have generated. Granted, without historical data, it is hard to say whether that revenue is purely due to the outdoor patio or if some of it simply replaced indoor dining revenue. Regardless, outdoor patios have shown to generate significantly more profit than the parking spaces they replace. 

The building and maintenance of parklets in and of itself presented an economic benefit to the city; $25M was invested by restaurants, about $26k per restaurant with the assistance of COVID-related relief funds. Though this may seem like a large initial investment, participating restaurants generated on average $15k in weekly sales throughout the summer, easily recouping initial costs. 

Juneteenth 2022

Moving up the Great Lakes, Detroit, like many industrial cities, had an underutilized waterfront and very polluted river. In 2003, a conservancy was created to remediate the Detroit River waterfront and build the RiverWalk. In 2013, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy assessed the economic impact of the revitalization and found that as of 2012, 3.5 miles of the RiverWalk had been completed (about 80% of the overall project scope). This section of the RiverWalk cost $80 million to build and an additional $60 million was put into an endowment for operation and maintenance. This investment spurred $1.55 billion in private and public investment, of which $639 million could be linked directly to the waterfront. The study expected another $1 billion in investment over the next decade. The park also created almost 17,000 jobs and generates $4.5 million in annual tax revenue. 

In NYC, a city where already “more people walk, bike, and take transit […] than any other city in the United States” (Sant, Alison. From the Ground Up. Island Press, 2022.), the Department of Transportation found a significant increase in retail sales and drop in commercial vacancies around new pedestrian plazas and bike lanes created between 2007 and 2012. Retail sales increased by 49% versus 3% overall in Manhattan and vacancies dropped 49% in those areas as well. Especially where cars are not the main mode of transportation, public space activation drives economic growth. 

Economic Impact in Cleveland 

The 2015 redevelopment of Public Square cost $50 million in public and private funding, a massive financial undertaking. According to a 2019 JLL study, the project went on to spur $1.2 billion in investment around Public Square in just four years following its completion. This includes: 

• $559.3M of office investment 

• $382.5M of multifamily housing, with over 1,300 units added and residential population increasing from around 500 to 2,300 in five years 

• Retail occupancy increased by 20%, with the addition of 30 retailers 

In addition to the new Sherwin Williams HQ and both 55 and 75 Public Square renovations, Public Square is set to have Jersey barriers replaced by bollards in 2023 (which have been in place since 2017). We look forward to tracking the impact of creating a more continuous experience along with the denser residential and office worker population. 

Walnut Wednesday

On a significantly smaller scale, Walnut Wednesday is a perfect example of a strategic public space activation that has positive economic impact: creating a welcoming environment for office workers returning Downtown. Walnut Wednesday is our summertime weekly food truck event at Perk Plaza. At one single Walnut Wednesday event, approximately 400 sales were made between 6 food trucks. With a conservative price estimate of $8-12 per sale, Walnut Wednesday generated at least between $3200-4800 in the span of 2.5 hours.  

Even with sales figures aside, DCA received positive, anecdotal feedback from office-using employers that their employees, who have the choice of when to come to the office, typically chose to come into work on Wednesdays so they could come out during the lunch hour and attend Walnut Wednesday. As we work to reanimate Downtown and create a commute-worthy experience, public space activations are hugely impactful. 

This year, with significant community focus on creating world-class Downtown waterfronts and rethinking public space management, DCA continues to champion Downtown public spaces - both their enhancement and their regular activation.