Photo by Michael Yatsko
About 100 days ago, a coalition of leaders from city, county and state government joined with the business community to begin building a long-term revitalization strategy for downtown Harrisburg. Every serious economic development planning effort like this starts the same way: you stop talking and start listening.
The vehicle was a community perception survey, a nationally recognized method for taking the temperature of how residents, workers, visitors and investors experience a place. Working with the Pennsylvania Downtown Center, we launched it online in mid-February. By April, 4,011 people had responded.
Four thousand people. At a time when civic cynicism is lurking in any comment section, that response is remarkable. And it tells you something important before you even look at a single data point: apathy is not our problem. One in five respondents said they want to be personally involved in the work ahead. That’s not just a survey result; it’s a community call to action.
The people behind the numbers matter too. Roughly half the respondents are city residents, with about a quarter of those living downtown. Forty-five percent are downtown workers, including nearly 1,000 state employees. Almost 3,000 reported that walking is their primary mode of getting around downtown. These aren’t drive-through opinions. These are people with a real vested interest in helping to improve downtown Harrisburg.
The survey surfaced real strengths, and, as I have mentioned in this space, we sometimes have a tendency of underselling those strengths. Respondents pointed to the architecture, the historic character and the riverfront as genuine assets. These are actual competitive advantages that other communities spend decades and millions trying to manufacture. Cultural institutions, the arts scene and restaurants continue to draw people and create activity. Walkability within our core remains a point of pride.
And beneath all of it, there was optimism. Frustrated optimism in some cases, but optimism nonetheless. People believe a turnaround is achievable. They said so, unprompted, several times throughout the survey.
Photo by Michael Yatsko
But the survey also confirmed what many of us already suspected. Downtown Harrisburg isn’t struggling because people don’t care—it’s struggling because some basic things aren’t working. Respondents were clear. The absence of everyday essentials like a grocery store or pharmacy makes downtown feel like a destination rather than a place to live. Parking continues to shape how people experience downtown, with respondents citing concerns around ease of use, communication and accessibility. Safety and cleanliness perceptions, particularly at night, keep people away who would otherwise be there.
The Pennsylvania Downtown Center, our partner in this process, synthesized the survey findings into five emerging revitalization themes.
First, reestablish downtown as a place for daily life, not just a dinner destination, but somewhere you can run errands, meet a need, and build a routine. Second, fix parking. This means working to make it more affordable, more intuitive, better communicated and more customer friendly. Third, improve both the reality and the perception of safety and cleanliness, with better lighting, visible presence and cleaner streets. Fourth, support a healthier and more diverse business ecosystem by reducing regulatory friction and actively recruiting and retaining the mix of businesses that make a downtown worth visiting. And fifth, create sustained energy through more housing, more events and more coordinated leadership. A better downtown won’t happen by accident. It requires a plan, a strategy and a coordinated urgency and collaboration among all of us.
The survey was step one. Now we take time to test these themes with other stakeholders. Focus groups are meeting to get a deeper understanding of the perspectives of all downtown users. At the end of June, we’re hosting public workshops throughout the city. These will be interactive sessions with breakout conversations, interactive exercises and real opportunities for residents to help shape what downtown Harrisburg looks like in the future. Stay tuned for the location and times for these workshops. They will be held during and after work to accommodate different schedules.
Four thousand people showed up and weighed in before we asked them to do anything. Imagine what’s possible when we turn that interest into momentum. In the short term, we have secured funding and are working in collaboration with city partners to bring something new and visible, fueled by community participation, to downtown streets in the months ahead. This program and subsequent activations will be designed to remind people why this place is worth showing up for. More details are coming soon. The work is just getting started. Follow it at www.DowntownHbg.com.
A past SoMa Block Party. Photo by Michael Yatsko Photography.
Ryan Unger is president and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC.
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