By Elizabeth Joldeski, Executive Officer, Mainstreet Australia
I recently had the opportunity to attend the International Downtown Association’s 2026 Annual Conference in Toronto – three days bringing together more than 1,300 place leaders from around the world to explore the forces reshaping our downtowns, main streets and precincts.
Toronto was a particularly fitting place for these conversations. It is the birthplace of the Business Improvement Area (BIA) model, which began there in 1970 and has since influenced approaches to precinct management around the world. The conference theme, Intersections: Where Districts, Disciplines & Ideas Converge, also reflected something that came through strongly across almost every session: successful places can no longer be managed in silos.
I also had the privilege of participating in a global panel discussing what is universal in place management and what needs to remain local. It was a great opportunity to share what we are doing in Australia, but also to step back and consider what we can learn from other cities and countries.
I came home with plenty of ideas, but a few themes particularly stood out.
1. Downtown isn’t dead – but its purpose is changing
One of the standout sessions came from renowned urbanist Richard Florida, who challenged the narrative that hybrid work and declining office occupancy mean the end of downtown.
His argument was much more interesting: downtown isn’t dying; the traditional Central Business District is being reinvented.
Florida described what is happening as the “de-office-ification” of downtown.
The 20th-century CBD was largely built around concentrating office workers. Technology and flexible working have broken that model. People are no longer tethered to a particular desk or office building five days a week.
But that doesn’t make place less important.
It potentially makes it more important.
If people don’t have to come into our centres, we need to give them compelling reasons to want to come.
Florida returned to the simple idea that “Downtown is for people.”
The future centre is increasingly about connection – meeting, collaborating, eating, shopping, experiencing culture, attending events, being entertained and simply being around other people.
Perhaps we should therefore think less about the traditional Central Business District and more about what Florida describes as a Central Connectivity District.
2. Our centres increasingly have to earn people’s presence
This was probably my biggest takeaway from Toronto.
For generations, our CBDs and many activity centres benefited from necessity. People had to travel there for work, shopping, banking, government services and countless everyday activities.
Technology has changed that.
We can work from home. Shop online. Bank online. Order food to our door. Stream entertainment from our lounge room.
So what makes someone get up and actually go somewhere?
Place.
Experience. Culture. Food. Entertainment. Events. Public space. Social connection. Other people.
This has enormous implications for our main streets.
Retail remains incredibly important, but retail alone cannot be the strategy. Successful centres need a diverse ecosystem of businesses, hospitality, culture, entertainment, employment, housing, recreation, events and public spaces.
The quality of place itself is becoming an economic competitive advantage.
3. The night-time economy is economic development
This brings me to another major theme from Toronto – and the focus of this special Discussion Edition of Mainstreet Australia’s Monthly EDM.
One of the strongest messages I heard was that nightlife and culture should not be treated as the icing on the cake. They are part of the cake.
The city doesn’t stop functioning at 6pm. So why do so many of our strategies, services and systems still behave as though it does?
A functioning night-time economy requires much more than bars and restaurants. It involves transport, workers, safety, lighting, policing, licensing, planning, public space, cultural venues, entertainment, hospitality and precinct management.
Toronto itself is actively considering nightlife as a social, cultural and economic asset, with the conference program examining how municipal policy, real-estate pressures, artists, venues and citywide approaches can shape a successful night economy.
For Australia, the question should not simply be “How do we make our centres safer after dark?”
It should also be:
How do we create main streets and precincts that are safe, economically successful, culturally vibrant and well managed throughout the day and night?
Safety and activation should not be competing objectives. Done well, they reinforce each other.
That is why this EDM is a little different. We want it to be a Discussion Edition – exploring what Australia is currently doing in the night-time economy, where the opportunities are, and what we can learn from international practice.
4. Great places are economic infrastructure
Another theme I kept returning to throughout the conference was the relationship between place and economic development.
We traditionally talk about investment attraction in terms of tax settings, workforce, infrastructure, land and incentives.
But increasingly, great places are themselves investment-attraction and talent-retention tools.
Businesses want to locate where people want to be.
Workers increasingly have choices about where they work and live.
Visitors choose destinations based on the experiences they offer.
And residents decide whether to stay in communities based partly on their quality of life.
That makes the quality of our main streets, CBDs and activity centres an economic issue – not simply a beautification or amenity issue.
5. The future downtown may not be one district at all
Florida also offered an interesting way of thinking about the geography of our centres.
Rather than one homogenous CBD dominated by business, the downtown of the future might be an interconnected collection of districts – business, residential, cultural, creative, recreational, entertainment and nightlife precincts.
As Florida put it, perhaps the future downtown is an “amalgamation that’s not just one thing.”
That resonated with me.
The strongest places I saw and heard about in Toronto weren’t trying to make every street perform the same function. They recognised different identities, rhythms and uses and then focused on how those places connect.
There is an important lesson here for Australian activity centres and main streets: diversity is a strength.
6. Place management matters more, not less
And finally, all of this reinforces the importance of professional place management.
If successful places depend on the interaction between business, property, planning, transport, culture, events, public realm, safety, economic development and community, someone needs to be joining the dots.
That’s the role our industry plays.
The future isn’t simply about filling shops, bringing office workers back or running more events.
It is about understanding how the whole place works – at 10am, 6pm, midnight and beyond.
Bringing the conversation home
These international conversations are particularly timely for Mainstreet Australia.
As Victoria heads towards the 2026 State Election, Mainstreet Australia is finalising its advocacy statement setting out the issues we believe need greater attention from the next Victorian Government.
The 24-hour and night-time economy will be a key focus.
We will be calling for a more coordinated approach that recognises the economic and cultural contribution of our main streets and precincts while addressing the very real challenges around safety, transport, planning, activation and management after dark.
Because ultimately, the question isn’t whether our main streets can return to what they were.
It’s much more exciting than that:
What do we want them to become next?
Look out for the release of Mainstreet Australia’s 2026 Victorian Election Advocacy Statement soon.
In the meantime, we hope this Discussion Edition starts a conversation. What is Australia getting right when it comes to the night-time economy? Where are the gaps? And what should governments, councils and place managers be doing differently?
We’d love to hear your views.
