MAY 8, 2005 – BALTIMORE – The National Trust for Historic Preservation has presented its 2005 Main Street Civic Leadership Award to the New Rules Project, a program of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).
The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the commercial district revitalization movement by an organization or individual working in the public policy arena.
“The National Trust for Historic Preservation recognizes the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for their New Rules Project’s efforts to educate communities on how to revive their commercial districts through policy change, and to help local, independent businesses gain a competitive advantage,” said Amada West, the Trust’s Assistant Director for Community Revitalization Networks.
ILSR launched the New Rules Project to develop and implement public policies that build community by supporting humanly scaled politics and economics. The centerpiece of the project is an online clearinghouse of hundreds of local, state, and national model policies, along with supporting research.
“As a long-time ally of the Main Street movement, it is a great honor for us to be presented with this award,” said Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher with the New Rules Project. “Our work is guided by a framework of local self-reliance. We believe healthy Main Streets are critical to community life, and that the healthiest downtowns and neighborhood business districts are those in which most of the businesses are owned locally.”
About ILSR: The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1974 to advance sustainable, equitable, and community-centered economic development through research and educational activities and technical assistance. For more, see http://www.ilsr.org
