The best way to understand the potential for heritage development is to look at some of the wide variety of community-based projects being undertaken around the country.

Generally, revitalization involves efforts to bring life and greater activity back to main streets and older neighborhoods. In the U.S., main street revitalization programs have helped hundreds of traditional town centers find new roles and compete in the marketplace, meeting new needs in older buildings adapted with respect for their historic character.

Revitalized mill villages are a central feature of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Massachusetts/Rhode Island. Once the center of the textile industry, these villages had seriously declined and residents had limited opportunities. A decade of regional effort in heritage development has led to hundreds of revitalization projects, including reuse of many of the large architecturally excellent mill buildings for a wide variety of contemporary industrial and commercial uses.

Increased tourism and economic life leads to healthy small businesses that meet local needs, providing visitor services that also add to the economic web.Examples include art galleries, bicycle rental shops, and restaurants in the tiny villages along the towpath trail in the Cuyahoga Valley Recreation Area (between Clevelandand Akron). Even a spandex-clad cyclist can carry a platinum American Express card, and have the painting shipped home.

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Baltimore’s innovative water taxi service is an outstanding entrepreneurial response to heritage tourism.For $3.50 a visitor can get on and off all day, and with an easy-to-read map and discount coupons, comfortably explore neighborhoods that might otherwise be too off-the-beaten path to feel safe. The water taxi is a vital part of how the economic activity of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor attractions is being dispersed into surrounding areas.

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