Some downtown areas in America have become recipients of suburban sprawl when developers did not focus on compactness or cohesiveness in developing land. Decentralization of towns was followed by the proliferation of office parks and malls. As retail business activities shifted to large malls, downtowns frequently had many vacancies, further discouraging people from living and shopping there.

At The RBA Group, when planning downtown revitalization projects we work closely with local authorities and execute impact studies, pedestrian and traffic analysis, and, lastly, design improvements to existing rights of way. We have also been involved in downtown planning activities associated with the national and local Main Street programs (run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation). The RBA Group plans and designs improvements within tight constraints, focusing on traffic and parking needs together with "streetscape" aesthetics. Making a downtown more appealing often involves, pedestrian- friendly environments with enhanced sidewalks, benches, trees, landscaping, safe crosswalks, new traffic signals, and convenient bicycle parking. Over the past three decades, our planners and designers have infused new life into dozens of communities that include Fanwood, NJ, Leonia, NJ, Hackettstown, NJ, Poughkeepsie, NY; Mountain View, NJ; Greenville, SC; Rome, GA; Greensboro, NC; and Tupelo, MS.