Six core elements of a safe and vibrant hospitality zone:

1. Entertainment. Progressive communities nurture dining and entertainment opportunities for diverse ages, lifestyles, and cultures with incentives for business development and talent retention.

2. Public safety. A continuum of collaborative partnerships—ranging from business associations, to neighborhood organizations, to licensing, permitting, enforcement, and regulatory agencies—is required to manage hospitality zones.

3. Multiuse sidewalks. Vitality and vibrancy extend outside of buildings to the streets and sidewalks, and they encompass such experiences as sidewalk café dining, kiosks, food vendors, street entertainers, and public markets.

4. Venue safety. There is increased pressure for licensed beverage businesses to prevent sales and service to underage and intoxicated persons as well as assure the safety of patrons both inside the venues and as they exit.

5. Late-night transportation. Providing safe and efficient access to and exit from hospitality zones can enhance the visitor experience, reduce alcohol-related accidents, and expedite clearing the zone at bar-closing time.

6. Quality of life. Mixed-use districts place residents and commercial businesses in close proximity, often resulting in conflicts about noise, trash, vandalism, fights, and public urination.

Contrary to common belief, the key component for each element’s success is not infrastructure or system changes. It is people. In the end, it is people who will enjoy a hospitality zone’s vibrancy, and it is the communication and cooperation among various stakeholders who will facilitate implementation of necessary changes and ensure sustainability.

Excerpted from "Got Nightlife? Manage Sociability as an Economic Engine" in the the November 2010 PM magazine.