Main streets thrive when communities come together. Whether it’s planning events, enhancing public spaces, or supporting local businesses, the best ideas often come from the people who live, work, and visit there. So, how do you tap into this wealth of local knowledge? The answer: crowdsourcing.

Why Crowdsourcing Matters for Main Streets

Traditional planning methods can sometimes miss the mark because they don’t always capture the diverse perspectives of the community. Crowdsourcing changes that by allowing residents and visitors to share ideas, provide feedback, and actively shape the future of their main street.

Benefits of Crowdsourcing for Main Streets:

• Engage the Community – Give people a voice in local projects and initiatives.
• Generate Fresh Ideas – Discover unique suggestions that might not have been considered.
• Boost Participation – When people contribute, they feel more invested in the success of the community.
• Make Data-Driven Decisions – Gather real insights to guide improvements and event planning.

Ways to Use Crowdsourcing for Main Street Success

Identify Improvement Opportunities

Is there a section of your main street that’s not living up to its full potential? Maybe a particular area could use better lighting, more benches for seating, or a splash of public art to make it feel more welcoming. With crowdsourcing, you can get valuable feedback from the people who interact with your main street every day.

An interactive map lets residents pinpoint specific areas that need attention, drop a pin, leave a comment about what they think could be improved, and even upload images that show problem spots or give inspiration for upgrades. This process makes it easy for community members to identify issues you might have missed and helps local leaders prioritize the most needed improvements, all while keeping the community involved in the change-making process.

Support Local Businesses with Community 'Best of' Choice Awards 

One of the best ways to boost local business visibility is by encouraging your community to recognize and celebrate its favorites. Using crowdsourcing for a “Best Of” or community choice awards can shine a light on the neighborhood gems around your main street. Let residents nominate their favorite restaurants, shops, or service providers and vote for their top choices. This creates a sense of pride and loyalty among both business owners and customers.

Plus, it offers a great marketing opportunity for the winners, helping them attract more customers. You can also integrate this process into your interactive map, allowing people to vote directly and check out the top businesses in their area, driving foot traffic to local hotspots.

Create a Collaborative Vision for Main Street

Main streets are constantly evolving, and long-term growth requires collaboration and foresight. Whether you’re considering new zoning regulations, sustainability projects, or the addition of green spaces, gathering feedback from the community ensures that your decisions align with what people want and need. Use an interactive map to let residents leave suggestions for new businesses they’d like to see, weigh in on public transit options, or vote on what types of developments would enhance the area.

This helps create a comprehensive and collaborative vision for the future of your main street, keeping the decision-making process transparent and inclusive. By involving the community in these critical conversations, you’ll create a main street that reflects the values and desires of the people who live, work, and visit there.

Plan Community Events with Direct Input

Want to ensure your main street events, like street fairs, parades, and farmers markets, are exactly what your community wants? Use an interactive map to collect suggestions and input directly from the people who matter most—the locals! You can allow residents to vote on which food vendors they’d like to see, what types of entertainment would be the most exciting, and even help brainstorm the event’s theme or name.

The beauty of crowdsourcing is that it builds excitement and ownership around the event. People feel more connected because they’ve contributed to shaping it. Not only does this ensure your event resonates with the community, but it also drives higher engagement. People love to participate when they feel their voice matters!

Turning Feedback into Action: Visualizing Your Community’s Voice

Collecting input is just the first step toward creating meaningful change for your main street. Proxi doesn’t just gather feedback—it helps you organize, visualize, and act on it in a way that’s clear, accessible, and actionable. Here’s how:

Plot Feedback on an Interactive, Digital Map

With Proxi, all the community suggestions you collect can be instantly plotted onto an interactive map. As residents drop pins, leave comments, and upload images, each piece of feedback becomes a visual point on the map—giving you a comprehensive, easy-to-navigate view of the issues or opportunities across your main street.

Whether it's identifying problem areas, highlighting event ideas, or marking popular business spots, having a visual representation of the data ensures you’re not just hearing feedback—you’re seeing it in context. This added layer of insight helps you make better, more informed decisions.

Organize and Prioritize Feedback

Proxi doesn’t just display feedback; it helps you organize it into categories such as "Event Ideas," "Improvement Suggestions," or "Local Business Highlights." You can also apply filters and tags to sort feedback by themes, urgency, or location. This makes it easy to prioritize what needs attention first, whether it’s a safety concern on one part of the street or an idea for a new farmers market location.

Spot Trends and Insights

When feedback is collected, it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Proxi’s map-based platform allows you to quickly spot patterns and trends in the feedback. Maybe several people have mentioned a particular business or suggested the same type of event. With Proxi’s real-time analytics and easy-to-read map visualizations, it’s simple to identify the key themes emerging from the crowd and turn them into actionable plans.

Take Action, Track Progress

Once you’ve gathered and organized feedback, Proxi makes it easy to keep the community updated on the status of projects. From planning festivals to making physical improvements on the street, you can use the map to show progress, share future plans, and get additional input along the way. This transparent approach not only keeps residents engaged but also shows that their voices are making a difference.

By transforming community feedback into a visually accessible, organized map, Proxi empowers you to act efficiently and in alignment with your community’s needs.

How to Get Started with Proxi’s Crowdsourcing Tools

Bringing crowdsourcing to your main street is easier than you think with Proxi’s interactive maps and custom forms. Here’s how:

✅ Set Up Your Map – Create a digital map and define categories like 'Event Ideas,' 'Improvements Needed,' or 'Community Favorites.'
✅ Enable Public Input – Allow visitors to drop pins, add descriptions, and even upload photos.
✅ Use Custom Forms – Gather structured feedback with tailored question fields.
✅ Analyze & Take Action – Review submissions, spot trends, and make data-backed decisions.

Get Your Community Involved Today!

Your main street is a reflection of the people who use it every day. By inviting them to share ideas and insights, you create a more vibrant, welcoming, and successful downtown. Ready to start crowdsourcing? Build your interactive map today! 👇