This comprehensive book covers the theory and practice of Business Improvement Districts or BIDs - partnerships between local communities and governments established to revitalize neighborhoods and catalyze economic development in a region. In this book, author Seth Grossman demonstrates the ways in which BIDs work, pull stakeholders together, and acquire funds to manage the difficult process of community revitalization especially in urbanized, threatened town centers. BIDs also blur traditional lines between public and private organizations, and their governance raises critical new questions about democratic representation, accountability, transparency, and responsiveness.