People’s perception of downtown varies greatly. One common attribute people generally associate with downtowns is tall buildings.
True in most cities, people generally agree that “downtown” is dense with tall buildings, relative to other parts of the City, and includes government offices, churches, libraries, and other civic buildings and spaces. However, where downtown begins, or ends is often up for debate. This is common and was confirmed in a recent community survey conducted by Downtown High Point. Rather than trying to convince people that specific buildings or groups of buildings are within or are not within downtown it’s likely better to acknowledge that downtown has a large footprint comprised of several “districts.” Each district might have its own character and/or predominant uses. Branding of downtown for marketing purposes should take this into consideration – several districts but one downtown.

The recent branding efforts for downtown convey the importance of the arts as a major component for downtown revitalization. High Point’s existing furnishing industry provides the foundation to create a design economy that capitalizes upon the city’s home furnishings industry.