Have you considered implementing a better block in downtown to gage how changes in the streepscape as well as street venues (art, sidewalk cafes, planting, narrowing streets, etc) could change the downtown makeup? The idea behind it is to create a "mock block" for a weekend or so and see how people response when blocks are turned into places where more human interactions take place. The better block program was first implementing in Oak Cliff, Dallas and it's revolutionizing urban settings nationwide. Presentations of implemented better blocks are powerful. See link below.