COAL AVENUE COMMONS:
LOOKING TO THE PAST TO BUILD THE FUTURE.
56 October 2020
A
At one time, everything was in or near Coal Avenue downtown, designed to be the social and commercial hub for residents and surrounding ranches, farms, or tribal lands. The emphasis of the district was on providing access to one-stop shopping for daily needs. Post-World War II, suburban development favoring shopping malls, and single- use zoning have driven resources away from downtowns as vital community centers. The devaluing of downtowns occurred as advanced engineering was getting fastermoving motorized automobiles produced more quickly and efficiently. As downtowns prioritized cars the inevitable result was deterring people from stopping to shop, walk, bike, and socialize. Historically, in most Southwestern towns, everyone shared the public right-of-way with very wide sidewalks. However, many of today’s downtowns prioritize automobile travel, serving the few rather than the many, killing a street’s overall sense of place and diminishing its value for allusers. Numerous organizations and communities are working to restore the historic functions of their downtowns and reestablish them as the centers of towns and cities. Nationally, every dollar a community uses to support its downtown leverages an average of $18 in new investment, making historic downtowns one of the most successful economic development strategies in America (www.nmmainstreet. org). Cities and towns across the country are realizing their historic commercial districts have lost their sense of place. They have all come to the conclusion that in order for these districts to continue to be an economic driver in their community, a change needs to occur. When used for economic development, placemaking seeks to help a community attract and retain talented workers and the businesses that employthem. Gallup is looking to the future by taking a lesson from the past
