The City of Peoria’s Old Town area is a significant historical site in
the community. Similar to many historic districts and downtown areas
throughout the United States, Old Town could benefit from reinvestment
in the form of historic preservation and revitalization efforts. These
types of projects aim to highlight regional history while creating new
community attractions that can boost the local economy and provide new
entertainment and connection opportunities for residents and visitors.
Three graduate students in the PAF 509: Public Affairs Capstone
course were tasked with assisting Peoria city staff
in developing new methods and ideas for reinvigorating the Old Town
district. Throughout the project, the student team investigated strategies
and initiatives implemented by six peer cities that have faced similar
challenges as Old Town. The main lessons taken from these case studies
are organized into four categories: branding, processes and participation,
placemaking through activities and events, and adaptive reuse.
Students used a variety of research methods over the course of the
the capstone project, including interviews with city staff, academic literature
review, and municipal document review. This variety of information helped
the team develops relevant and feasible recommendations intended
to help boost Old Town Peoria into a popular, bustling downtown
area. Much of the student work focuses on ways to build community
connections while finding new, innovative ways to utilize existing vacant
or underutilized infrastructure. Some key highlights include developing
new media campaigns, installing new identifying signage, hosting regular
community events, and building a project website to detail Old Town
plans and collect public feedback.
Many of this project’s suggested recommendations are inspired by the
best practices and common pitfalls of the six analyzed case studies. The
primary intent of this project is to provide main takeaways and lessons
learned from the six studied cities to make a valuable contribution
to Peoria’s process of revitalizing Old Town. Through their research,
students aim to support Peoria’s goals toward strengthening its
community assets while keeping its rich history preserved.