IDA Conference Makes Return to Seattle

More than 1,400 leaders from downtowns across the country and world visited the Emerald City from Sept. 11-13 for the International Downtown Association’s 70th Annual Conference & Marketplace, which DSA co-hosted for the first time since 1994.

Downtown champions from 46 U.S. states and 10 countries came together to connect, share best practices and discover new ideas. Conference attendees were able to see firsthand how downtown Seattle is being revitalized with a new waterfront development, a record residential population, vibrant public spaces and a mix of uses that makes the area one of the most dynamic downtown cores in the country.

DSA was honored to host and collect three awards at the international conference, including a Pinnacle Award for our Seattle City Makers Podcast with DSA President & CEO Jon Scholes. With new episodes published twice a month, the podcast presents a conversational look at the people and issues impacting downtown Seattle and the city at large.

We also received two Excellence Awards: one for our Metropolitan Improvement District ambassador trike program and another for our efforts to cultivate human connections with our MID ambassadors. The use of custom trikes by our MID Clean Team is unique to Seattle. We began using the customized trikes in 2022 to help ambassadors respond more quickly to a variety of clean-ups and allow them to traverse the many hills downtown.

Our second Excellence Award was given to DSA/MID in recognition for our efforts to reduce high rates of employee turnover and chronic understaffing with MID ambassadors by enhancing HR support. A new ambassador resource specialist role was established within HR, serving as a point of contact for ambassadors and providing individualized support.