Planning for Change: Building Small Business Endurance

Cities across the United States are struggling with a fundamental question: How can redevelopment create new housing and transit opportunities without displacing the small and local businesses that give neighborhoods their identity? This presentation examines how planners can support business preservation as redevelopment accelerates.

Using Alexandria, Virginia’s, Duke Street corridor planning process as a case study, learn about strategies to safeguard 400+ businesses ranging from auto repair shops to salons, medical offices, and restaurants. Presenters highlight how planners can:

• Prioritize small-business needs within land use plans and corridor redevelopment;

• Test approaches, such as incentivizing redevelopment in certain areas while protecting others, adaptive reuse, and requirements for affordable commercial space; and

• Engage business owners directly through methods like door-to-door outreach, small-group conversations, and partnerships with business associations.

Leave with practical tools to integrate small-business preservation into planning practice — recognizing how local economies are tied to community character, identity, and resilience. The presentation emphasizes inclusive planning and equity by centering the lived experiences of business owners most at risk of displacement.