National Main Street Institute training

[Peter Bratt]

I apologize if a similar question has been posted to this board at an earlier time (I checked the archives and did not see anything though).

Are there any certification programs that people would recommend participating in early in their planning career? I will be able to meet the AICP certification requirements in 1.5 years, so that is a bit down the road. I have a friend who works for a Main Street group, and she says that the Main Street Institute Basic Training program is an excellent place to get some good experience and networking while attending a conference. I'm interested in housing and economic development, so I think that this conference might be something worth looking into (although the price tag is steep!).

[DMG]

One of the problems with Main Street IMHO is that they place too much emphasis on historic preservation. Yes yes, I know that is the core of their being, but sometimes it clouds their grasp of reality.

You'll get some good experience if you go, but be forewarned that many Main Street folks are not as polished and professional as the planning and economic development crowd. You'll find many folks with their hearts in the right place, but for better networking and professional development you may want to look at other conferences.

[Suburb Repairman]

One of the problems with Main Street IMHO is that they place too much emphasis on historic preservation. Yes yes, I know that is the core of their being, but sometimes it clouds their grasp of reality.

You'll get some good experience if you go, but be forewarned that many Main Street folks are not as polished and professional as the planning and economic development crowd. You'll find many folks with their hearts in the right place, but for better networking and professional development you may want to look at other conferences.

Very, very true. Around our office, we call Main Street a religion because of how tight they stick to their four (or however many principles) they have now. They tend to apply the same philosophy to EVERY downtown, which I think most of us here will acknowledge is not going to work. Main Street folks tend to be very political as well.

I'm not meaning to turn this into a MS bashing thread, but like DMG, I think your time is better spent elsewhere. However, if you are interested in getting into the downtown stuff and want a primer, the MS thing might work. For the record, I think MS does very good work in general; they just sometimes fail to see the forest through the trees.

[Peter Bratt]

I do enjoy historic preservation, so maybe a Main Street Conference might be worth checking out.

However, I also want to get a good mix of conferences to attend. Are there any particular economic development conferences that people would recommend attending?

[Brocktoon]

I do enjoy historic preservation, so maybe a Main Street Conference might be worth checking out.

However, I also want to get a good mix of conferences to attend. Are there any particular economic development conferences that people would recommend attending?

If your location is accurate then you should become a member of MEDA. (If you are in another state then find your local economic development group, every state has one.) They have some solid classes and its a great place to network . There classes are hit or miss it really depends on the speaker.