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More than 100 people attended a town hall discussion Wednesday to review a new report from the civic group Manchester Connects, detailing potential cultural and economic development initiatives for the Queen City鈥檚 downtown and Millyard areas.

The report was created using community input culled from a series of public meetings and workshops over the past year and a half, where more than 200 city residents shared ideas and visions for the future of the state鈥檚 largest city.

Wednesday鈥檚 town hall discussion was held at the 91制片厂 at Manchester. The study was underwritten with local financial support and a federal grant to the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, which secured the Boston-based consulting firm Civic Moxie to compile data.

John Clayton, executive director of the Manchester Historic Association and a Manchester Connects volunteer, said the report 鈥渋s a blueprint for making our community a more vital, inviting place.鈥�

鈥淲hen the Millyard and downtown thrives, we all win,鈥� said Mike Skelton, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

鈥淲e need to do more as a city to not lose the momentum we鈥檝e got going,鈥� said Arthur Sullivan, principal partner of Manchester-based Brady Sullivan Properties. 鈥淲e have people here. We have people that want to be here. We need to get started.鈥�

The five goals detailed in the report are:

鈥� Create vibrant public spaces.

Manchester would benefit from more social destinations downtown, in the Millyard and on the West Side. Businesses, community groups and city government can add tremendous social capital by working together to create a mix of events and inviting spaces that encourage people to move throughout the community, resulting in greater social and businesses connections.

鈥⑻齈romote complete streets design and multimodal transportation choices.

Research shows that the more street intersections that exist, the more opportunities there are for human interaction and vitality. With more than 98 percent of Millyard employees driving to work alone or in a carpool, upgrading streets so they are more welcoming for pedestrians, bicycles and transit can put more people on the city鈥檚 sidewalks, adding to vitality and providing foot traffic for businesses while also easing demand on parking.听

鈥⑻齋upport mixed land uses and smart parking strategies.

The Millyard is predominately office and educational land uses. Dining options are few and the limited number of residential buildings doesn鈥檛 provide enough residents to support the range of active ground-floor uses that would draw more activity and animate the street life of the area. An integrated solution to land uses and parking strategies can help solve some of the challenges of an inactive ground floor and put more property into economic use.听

鈥淩ight now, parking is driving the decision-making in the Millyard,鈥� said Susan Silberberg, founder of Civic Moxie. 鈥淎s a city, you should never be in a situation where parking is driving all the decision-making.鈥�

鈥�Sustain the 鈥淢anchester Connects鈥� organization long-term.

Manchester is teeming with entrepreneurs, civic leaders, collaborators and energy. To make the most of those resources, people need to stay connected with one another. By facilitating connections among the people and institutions that want to make Manchester a better place to live, work and play, this organization will be a catalyst for the city鈥檚 future development.

鈥⑻鼴uild a world-class Riverwalk and iconic pedestrian bridge.

Active and well-designed urban waterfronts around the world support economic development and enhance livability. Manchester has a wonderful river, but its riverfront was never developed as a recreation area. Without a vibrant Riverwalk and second pedestrian bridge, the river will remain an underdeveloped asset. These amenities will build community spirit and connections while attracting the young people Manchester needs to grow. Businesses, in turn, will follow.

鈥淩ight now the Riverwalk is .3 miles,鈥� said Clayton. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 more of a River Stroll than a Riverwalk. Why can鈥檛 we expand that?鈥�

Organizers urged anyone wishing to get involved in the revitalization effort 鈥� including developing fundraising efforts 鈥� to visit听.

This artical was orginially published in the Union Leader November 2, 2017.