An increasing number of consumers are getting tired of cookie-cutter mall experiences. It’s not the 1960s anymore. Downtowns CAN compete with malls, by offering something different and attractive that malls can’t — a sense of place, the experience of walking around a pedestrian-friendly streetscape and seeing things you can’t see in a mall. Locally owned, one-of-a-kind businesses. Entertainment. Residential mixing with commercial mixing with retail. But you need a downtown that will “surprise and delight” — that offers something interesting and appealing from one shop window to the next (as well as general pedestrian appeal).

I’m not a fan of too many non-retail use in the heart of a downtown retail district no matter what it is, whether it’s medical offices, insurance companies, banks, etc. You kill off the critical mass of stroll appeal.

What makes many of these a problem for the retail district is the streetscape-killing “blank walls” — closed windows, shuttered windows, closed-curtained windows. That’s not what people want to see when they’re walking through a retail district. Given that they’re already here, my suggestion would be to see if we could encourage them to do something more interesting in their windows. Could we, say, arrange for them to show best of local student art in those windows? SOMETHING that makes it a fun experience to walk by and look at their windows?

Regarding my comment about “illegally and improperly”, the General Council of the Assemblies of God is headquartered nationally in Springfield, Missouri and locally in Charlton, Massachusetts. We have the right to our name and logo just as any corporation does. Many of the foreign churches are using the name and logo without permission. The AG considers such usage illegal and improper- and in fact, it is. A number of Brazilian churches were disfellowshiped from the Assemblies of God for false doctrine. Many still use the name “Assemblies of God” and even the logo although they are not part of the organization. SOME such churches may not have 501c3 status; some may not be legally incorporated; some may not have educated or Licensed of Ordained clergy, etc. It’s a complicated question and I am just scratching the surface, but I hope this helps.

What kills downtown Framingham is the easy proximity of Rte. 9 retail and restaurants, pure and simple. If our downtown were farther away from such places, like Waltham’s is, then it might have a chance as a shopping and eating destination.

It’s the same sad story all over America, really. Big box retailers and high-end malls put the small independent places that were a staple of downtowns like Framingham’s out of business. That’s their stated goal, their business plan.

If the community- and ethnic-specific little places downtown left, what we’d have is a lot of boarded-up storefronts. In fact, I’ve seen stories in national media about small downtowns undergoing exactly that, when the anti-immigration message gets heard by the only people willing to rent space.

I know Michelle you weren’t necessarily implying anything about these really big complicated issues (e.g. immigration, etc.). Like you, I’m not sure of what the solution is. I’m certainly not trying to start a fight or be polemical about it. Just trying to add some context.

Can you explain what you mean by using the name illegally and improperly? Does that mean that these are not “real” churches?