Isaac Kremer has written articles for Main Street Now, the New Jersey Transit-Friendly Development Newsletter, and the American Downtown Revitalization Review. He has been cited in multiple books His work has also been cited in multiple books and academic papers. Articles have highlighted his work in Newsday, NJBIZ, Revitalization, ROI-NJ, TapInto, USA Today and numerous local and regional publications.
Published Writing
How COVID-19 Will Leave Main Street Forever Changed, American Downtown Revitalization Review (June 2020)
Perspectives were shared on how COVID-19 was impacting businesses and the future for downtown areas. Some innovations highlighted were curbside pickup zones, online shopping, and pivot of restaurants to family style meals. Speculation was made about what short term improvements during the pandemic might be made permanent.
Transformation Strategies Yield Results for Downtown Metuchen, New Jersey Transit-Friendly Development Newsletter (July 22, 2019)
The revitalization of downtown Metuchen was driven by the selection of two transformation strategies – Family Friendly and Innovation. These strategies were selected following guidance from Main Street America. Retail promotions and improved storefronts were just a few examples of how these strategies were implemented.
Transforming a Neglected Parking Lot in Metuchen, New Jersey, Main Spotlight, The National Main Street Center (December 5, 2017)
In this Main Street Spotlight article from December 5, 2017, the story was shared of a rapid transformation project of a parking lot into an outdoor dining area. Lessons were shared about how public engagement, selecting the worst looking spot in town and making it better, and how to rapidly organize times to get results.
Creative Placemaking to Transform a Park in Milwaukee, Main Street Story of the Week, The National Main Street Center (May 6, 2016)
This is the story of how a National Endowment for the Arts gathering in DC inspired the leaders of a small town in Appalachia to connect with those in Milwaukee to transform a neglected park.
How Tactical Urbanism Can Help Build a #BetterMainStreet, Main Street Story of the Week, The National Main Street Center (August 7, 2014 and August 28, 2014)
As Main Street practitioners have known for some time, in adversity and challenge is opportunity. Government at all levels has no money? No problem. Developers can’t get financing for that next big project downtown? No worries. A do-it-yourself movement has emerged to make changes to places on a shoestring budget. Known as “tactical urbanism,” this incremental approach calls for low cost short-term interventions that transform places for the better within a very short timeframe, while planting the seeds for long-term change. Learn how your Main Street can utilize this unique approach in this week’s feature article by Guest Contributor, Isaac Kremer, Executive Director of Downtown Middlesboro.
Why This Work Matters: Wisdom from the People Who Are Making Communities Better, Wise Fool Press (March 31, 2014)
Why This Work Matters introduces you to the voices of 11 people who are doing the hard work of making communities better. They work in local and state and federal organizations, in governments and nonprofits, in planning, economic development, city management, downtown revitalization and more. In their own words, as clearly and honestly as they can put in writing, you’ll hear how they manage the frustrations of this work — how they deal with political realities, with shortcomings, with bureaucracy and discouragement. And, maybe more importantly, you’ll hear what they draw on to summon the courage and the bravery to keep at it.
How to Transform Your Downtown in 48 Hours, Main Street Now, The Journal of The National Trust Main Street Center (January 30, 2014)
The idea is simple. Get a bunch of volunteers to carry out low-cost interventions that plant the seeds for long-term change. What better response to shrinking budgets, tight capital markets, and declining civic participation? Get citizens involved in the act revitalizing their town.
Oyster Bay Cultural Resource Survey (November 22, 2011)
With the first settlement dating back to the 1650s, Oyster Bay is one of the most historic places on Long Island. Through a narrative and detailed description of individual buildings and sites, the history of this community on the North Shore of Long Island is brought to life.
48 Hours, 48 Months, 48 Years: A Planning Innovation, Main Street Now, The Journal of The National Trust Main Street Center (September 1, 2011)
Through an innovative planning initiative called the 48x48x48 Project, Oyster Bay on Long Island, New York, incorporated “pop-up concepts and public participation to show people the difference two days can make in the downtown. Short-term actions immediately changed the way people viewed one of the most neglected areas in the downtown. After 48 hours of change, Oyster Bay saw the beginning of new building improvements and new businesses. Plans for the next 48 weeks and 48 years have been put forward so the change will keep on going.
Integrating historic preservation and community development for renewal in areas of concentrated poverty : a case study of the Ransom Place Historic District in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thesis (M.A.)–Cornell University. (May 6, 2005)
This neighborhood and case study is utilized as a theory-building exercise to draw some conclusions on how to infuse community development activities with a historic preservation consciousness, and to use an awareness of local history and culture (or what I call a preservation consciousness) as a tool for renewal – especially in severely distressed areas and in conditions of concentrated poverty.
Albion, Michigan: industrial decline and race relations in an American small town. Thesis (B.A)–Albion College. (May 2001)
Cited In – Books (chronological)
Sotelo, Fernanda. Beyond Temporary: Preserving the Existing Built Environment with Temporary Interventions. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Master of Science in Historic Preservation. New York, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, Columbia University, May 2013.
Funk, E Megan. The Evolution of the Kentucky Main Street Program; Its Beginning, Expansion, and Renaissance, Clemson University, 2014.
Friedman, Donald. Structure in Skyscrapers: History and Preservation. Unpublished manuscript, 2014.
Lydon, Mike and Anthony Garcia. Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action for Long-Term Change. Island Press, March 2015.
Meeks, Stephanie and Kevin C. Murphy. The Past and Future City: How Historic Preservation is Reviving America’s Communities. Island Press, October 2016.
Einberger, Scott Raymond. With Distance in His Eyes: The Environmental Life and Legacy of Stewart Udall. University of Nevada Press, 2018.
Solomon, Eric. Smart Growth in the Garden State: Exploring Stakeholder Objectives and the New Urbanist Roots of Transit-Oriented Development in New Jersey. Submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Art in Regional and Urban Planning. London, Great Britain: London School of Economics, 2018.
Halegoua, Germaine R. The Digital City: Media and the Social Production of Place. NYU Press, 2020.
Abrams, Rhonda. The Sh*t’s Hit the Fan…NOW WHAT?! Planning Shop, 2020.
Hazelwood, Jacqueline T. Best Practices for Urban Place Management Organizations (UPMOs) Through the Lens of COVID-19 Recovery. University of Colorado Denver, School of Public Affairs, Fall 2020.
Cited In – Articles (Alphabetical)
Abrams, Rhonda. “Small Business Owners Share Their Best Advice for Starting Your Own Company,” USA Today, January 12, 2022.
Bergeron, Tom. “Metuchen earns prestigious 2023 Great American Main Street Award,” ROI-NJ, March 27, 2023.
Bleyer, Bill. “Nassau’s historic Octagon Hotel restored,” Newsday, July 18, 2011.
Ibid. “Oyster Bay to fix up ‘eyesore’ parking lot,” Newsday, November 21, 2011.
Ibid. “$500G to help restore Oyster Bay buildings,” Newsday, December 20, 2011.
Carlson, Chuck. “Albion Was My Subject: For Isaac Kremer, ’01, the community served as a syllabus toward a rewarding career in the revitalization of downtowns,” Io Triumphe, Albion College, 2018.
Criblez, David. “Not just business as usual for Main St. Assoc.,” Oyster Bay Guardian, June 10, 2011.
Cunningham, Storm. “Video Describes History and Current Revitalization Efforts of Middlesboro, KY,” Revitalization: The Journal of Urban, Rural & Environmental Resilience, Issue #19, January 15, 2016.
Fazelpoor, Matthew. “The Metuchen Method,” NJBIZ, March 9, 2021.
Ibid. “What does it mean to Metuchen to win the Great American Main Street Award,” NJBIZ, April 10, 2023.
Johnson, Brett. “Grassroots resurgence: In just 3 years, Metuchen Downtown Alliance has nearly eliminated empty storefronts,” ROI-NJ, April 30, 2019.
Ibid. “Ongoing question: City dwellers may be fleeing to smaller suburbs… but what happens…,” ROI-NJ, July 12, 2021.
Ibid. “Downtown durability: Even as recession looms, business leaders think thriving communities can keep many post-pandemic gains,” ROI-NJ, July 14, 2022.
Karppi, D.F. “Community Help Needed to Preserve the Octagon Hotel,” Oyster Bay Enterprise-Pilot, July 16, 2009.
Kochinski, Tom. “Downtown goes interactive on new Web site,” Albion Recorder, June 1999.
Levin, Anne. “New Businesses Bolster Local Economy,” Town Topics, December 7, 2022.
Ibid. Princeton Business Partnership Unveils New Name, Design, and Progress, Town Topics, February 8, 2023.
Morath, Eric. Back to the future: Detroit’s history preserved on map Web site, December 22, 2006.
Rein, Richard. “Princeton Business Partnership Taps Advocate for Small Towns & Public Spaces As New Director,” TapInto Princeton, September 8, 2022.
Ibid., “From Princeton Business Partnership to Experience Princeton, the SID Promises ‘Discoveries Around Every Corner‘,” TapInto Princeton, January 23, 2023.
Ibid., “This Week in Princeton – Possibly More Action Than Talk,” TapInto Princeton, January 29, 2023.
Ibid., “Experience Princeton Director Earns National Recognition for Downtown Revitalization Work,” TapInto Princeton, March 28, 2023.
Schroeder, Rebekah. “Experience Princeton and a New Approach to Main Street,” U.S. 1, March 15, 2023.
Strauss, Eric. “Metuchen Downtown Alliance wins nearly $315K in COVID-19 grant funding for local businesses,” ROI-NJ, November 18, 2020.
Umberger, Melissa. The Octagon Hotel 1851-2009: An Analysis of Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse, October 2009.