A Shared Table: A Study of the Impacts of Louisiana Main Street
Thumbnail courtesy of Ruston Main Street, featuring Dine in the Pines
This report considers the first 34 years of Louisiana Main Street and the participating Louisiana Main Street communities. Main Street is economic development in the context of historic preservation. It is a strategy that capitalizes on existing assets to make each community competitive through differentiation rather than imitation, celebrating the local flavor and unique characters of each place. The results of these community-driven efforts are places with strong social cohesion and economic sustainability, places that support innovation and opportunity, and places where diverse participants work together for the benefit of the whole. While this benefit can be quantified in economic data, it can also be heard in the stories of the people on the ground. This report both quantitatively and qualitatively demonstrates the impact of Louisiana Main Street on the economic and social health of the state of Louisiana.
