What We Learned at IDA’s Place Matters 2026

Every year, downtown leaders from across North America gather to share what’s working, wrestle with what isn’t, and remind each other why this work matters. This May, members of our team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for the International Downtown Association (IDA)’s Place Matters conference—and came back energized, challenged, and full of ideas.

This year’s IDA was extra special for the DTFW team. We weren’t just attending. We were presenting.

Our Director of Marketing, Preston Wallace, took to the IDA stage, sharing how DTFW has used targeted sector strategies, business clustering, and our Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) program to drive foot traffic, catalyze economic vitality, and build connections between people, places, and industries. The central idea: when you think in ecosystems rather than isolated sectors—when local businesses, hospitality, arts, entertainment, and community spaces are working in concert—the sum is genuinely greater than its parts.

We were proud to bring Fort Wayne into that national conversation. 

Here are our big takeaways:

Madison: The testament 

Before the sessions, the city itself made an impression.

We visited a number of outstanding food and beverage establishments—including multiple James Beard–nominated and award-winning spots—and what stood out wasn’t just the quality of the food. It was how the entire city seemed to understand that hospitality is infrastructure. From service and atmosphere to public space activation, everything felt intentional.

Strong downtowns aren’t built through development alone. They’re built through experiences, through culture, through how people feel when they interact with a place. The physical environment sets the stage, but it’s the human experience that keeps people coming back. Madison reminded us of that standard, and we’re holding ourselves to it.

Collaboration is an operating system

If one message ran through nearly every session, it was this: the work is relational. Speakers returned again and again to ideas that sound simple but are make-or-break in practice: “Collaboration equals innovation,” “Relationships equal results,” “Change happens at the speed of trust.”

One speaker put particular emphasis on proactive collaboration with municipal government — not just engaging when there’s a conflict or a request, but building recurring strategic partnerships with city officials before you need them. Because trust isn’t built in a crisis. It’s built long before one arrives.

Focus to protect capacity

Working in an industry with seemingly infinite directions, challenges, and constituent needs can become an overwhelming juggling act—especially on a limited budget. Several leaders shared practical language they use to protect capacity while staying responsive: “That’s not in our strategic plan” and “Sure, here’s what that would cost—do you want to contract for it?” were cited across multiple presenters as tools for managing expectations without closing doors.

Another consistent piece of advice: find your champions early, before a new program or initiative launches. The right advocates make focused execution possible.

Data into storytelling

Maggie Campbell of Downtown Arlington, Texas, made a point that stuck with us: data is not just a reporting tool—it’s an economic generator. The framing matters. When we share numbers with boards, stakeholders, and municipal partners, we’re not just demonstrating accountability. We’re making the case for investment, for trust, for continued partnership. Strong downtown organizations know how to turn metrics into a narrative, and that narrative into momentum.

The broader conference reinforced this, with multiple sessions focused on case-making, measurable impact, and communicating value in ways that move people, not just inform them.

Design as the missing link

One of the conference’s most thought-provoking sessions posed a question we’re still sitting with: “What if the city is the lab—and what if design is the missing link of connection?”

Another line that stayed with us: “Designers cannot compel. We can only inspire action.”

These ideas pushed us to think about urban design, public space, and placemaking not just as aesthetic choices, but as tools for shaping how people feel and behave downtown. The best downtown environments don’t demand engagement. They invite it. They make people want to stay, gather, explore, and return. We’re asking ourselves what that looks like here, in Fort Wayne’s own streets and spaces.

A Genuinely Collaborative Industry

One thing that never gets old about IDA conferences: the generosity of the people in the room.

Downtown management and placemaking is an unusually collaborative field. Organizations routinely share resources, templates, strategies, and hard-won lessons—including with cities they might otherwise see as competitors for talent or investment. That spirit was on full display in Madison.

We left with new connections, new ideas, and a renewed appreciation for the people doing this work alongside us.

What We’re Bringing Back

Conferences are only as valuable as what you do with them afterward. We’re returning to Fort Wayne with sharper thinking around:

• How we tell the story of our work — to boards, to partners, to the public
• How we build and sustain proactive relationships with city leadership — before we need them
• How design and placemaking can deepen our downtown’s sense of connection — and what that looks like in our specific streets and spaces
• How hospitality and food and beverage can be even more central to how people experience downtown Fort Wayne

Creating strong downtown communities is long-horizon work. Progress compounds. Relationships compound. Ideas compound. This conference was a reminder of that—and of how much Fort Wayne has to contribute to the national conversation.

We have a lot to work toward. We also have a lot to be proud of.