Friday, May 16, 2025

Last week, DSFP’s Economic Development team joined professionals from across North America in Cleveland, Ohio for the International Downtown Association’s Place Matters conference. With this year’s theme, Cultivating Connections, the gathering explored how relationships drive success across every facet of downtown work from real estate and business retention to public space activation, cleanliness, safety, and homelessness outreach.

Hosted by the Downtown Cleveland, the conference was a dynamic “show and tell” of local best practices. Attendees were invited to experience firsthand how Cleveland is reimagining its downtown through strategic planning, bold office-to-residential conversions, cultural vibrancy, and the dedicated daily work of their ambassador team. Keynotes and tours highlighted Cleveland’s holistic approach to revitalization, leaving attendees inspired by both the vision and tangible progress on the ground.

Everything is Economic Development

One phrase echoed throughout the conference in breakout sessions, keynotes, and even coffee chats between events, was “Everything we do is economic development.” It’s a belief DSFP has long held and strives to embody in our daily work. As a community benefit district, our services and programming are designed to create the conditions for businesses, employees, residents, and visitors to thrive. From clean streets to vibrant public spaces, from business support to cultural events, every effort feeds into a stronger local economy.

By keeping our streets clean and safe, we make downtown inviting for everyone. By activating public spaces, we invite people to linger, explore, and support nearby businesses. Our events draw new foot traffic downtown, supporting local vendors and energizing the area with vibrancy and purpose. Each effort may seem small on its own, but together, they shift the narrative and reality of downtown San Francisco.

Walking Cleveland's Waterfronts

A standout moment of the conference was the From the Core to the Shores waterfront tour, which showcased the power of long-term planning, advocacy, and public-private collaboration in transforming downtown waterfront access. The tour took participants along Cleveland’s riverfront and lakefront, where years of persistent community visioning are giving way to real, visible progress. From the bustling Flats East Bank to future lakefront development sites and the new Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, the tour demonstrated how aligning investment and public will can unlock the potential of a city’s natural assets.

Seeing Cleveland in the implementation stage of their plans was especially energizing for our team, as we continue working with local partners to actualize the vision for San Francisco’s Embarcadero Plaza.

Demystifying Data

DSFP was also honored to contribute to the conference’s programming. Economic Development Analyst Hannah Kiburz spoke on a panel alongside two of DSFP’s key consultants: Jenny Starkey of Starkey Strategies and Mel Charlton of Geocentric. Together, they told the story of how DSFP built its economic development data program from the ground up.

Framed as a case study, the session offered pragmatic guidance to other urban place management organizations looking to integrate data into their work—regardless of team size, budget, or expertise. Attendees left with a suite of resources and the reassurance that effective data use is within reach for all. The session was well-attended and warmly received, underscoring DSFP’s growing role as not just an innovator in San Francisco, but a resource and leader for peers across the industry.

Conclusion

Hearing stories from peers, sharing our own experiences, and recognizing the shared challenges and wins in this work reminded us: downtown transformation is a collective effort, and every part of it-- from cleanliness to placemaking-- is economic development in action. Conferences like Place Matters offer more than just inspiration; they provide validation, momentum, and a sense of community for those of us working to reimagine what our cities can be.