South Miami Hometown South Miami, FL

During a 1992 community planning process, residents of the City of South Miami – a suburb of Miami – said over and over again, “We want our Main Street back.” The City subsequently adopted a Hometown Plan and created the Hometown District Overlay Code, aimed at making the downtown more people-friendly. Emphases of the Hometown Plan included transit-oriented development (South Miami has a rail rapid transit station by its downtown), protection for historic structures, pedestrian improvements, and adding residential uses to accommodate a diverse range of incomes. South Miami’s downtown now has revitalized commercial activity, several new and renovated buildings, wider sidewalks, traffic calming features, and a new municipal parking garage lined with restaurants. To show the potential for improvement, the City initially focused on demonstration projects: small areas that could be completely and dramatically transformed, to illustrate what might be possible in the larger downtown. The photos show Dorn Avenue, the first demonstration project, which was transformed from an uninviting expanse of asphalt into a street with wide brick sidewalks, outdoor cafes, and street trees.