In order to revitalize a place, you need to think about what people can see, and
that's a surprisingly small area. Focus around public transportation hubs and use them to grow lively street scenes. Consider
pop-ups, things like a farmer's market or food truck that can be deployed quickly to activate a space and
turn it into a place.
The cool thing about working on this human scale, very short in range, is that it naturally suits
incremental growth. Put out a park bench, a garbage can, and a planter full of flowers. Find some sort of food/beverage vendor, and if I was doing it, I would find the most fragrant food truck or cart and hustle them to park there. If there are blank walls, consider murals. If there are weird patches of grass, turn them into native plant gardens, which require little or no maintenance once established. If there are few or no trees, plant some -- oaks attract wildlife, but grow slowly, so mix in something that'll produce shade sooner, like maples. If there is a vacant lot or unused parking lot, turn it into event space like for a drum jam or mini-street-fair. Establish
a busk spot or two, perhaps with a little wooden platform stage if you have a nice alcove. Is there good bike parking? If not, add some.
1 car parking space = 10 bike parking spaces. Next, look at the nearest 2-5 buildings: the ones on each side of your starting point, the one across the street, and maybe also the neighbors of that one across the street. Are they full? Make sure they have street-facing windows with attractive displays. Are they vacant? Renovate if necessary to get businesses in there, things that will pull people in. A restaurant, coffeehouse, gift shop, gallery of local arts and crafts, beauty salon, bookstore, or clothing store would be good. Once you've got the core of an active place, you can gradually extent it outward by line of sight.
Finally, think about where people want to go, and especially
where they want to walk. Start at any transit stop and think about where it connects. Are those places people like to walk? If so, you're in good shape. If not, use the above steps to make them more attractive to pedestrians.
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