Those are questions with no simple answer. Or, rather, there are lots of answers, it's just not easy to decide which are the right ones, and which actually have a decent chance of being realised.
But a meeting at the Pavilion in Rothesay this wee
k may just help the town take another step forward from a wish-list to the reality of a better place to live in, work in and visit.
The meeting was the next step in a 'place-making' process, begun at a workshop held in Rothesay in February where a wide range of people threw in their tuppence-worth on some of the problems and possible solutions facing the town centre.
Back at the Pavilion this week, Deryck Irving and Elaine Gibb from Greenspace Scotland gave a short presentation on the findings of February's workshop - and though the meeting barely made it through the first of several pages listing ideas for improving the town centre, that only reflected the strength of feeling around the table for enhancing the area.
Said Mr Irving: "At the moment, the (Rothesay] town centre doesn't leap out at you. A lot of the town feels empty and functionless.
"At present Rothesay is 'slippery'- it's a place you go to on your way somewhere else. We want it to be 'sticky' - a place where people feel reluctant to leave."
The end result, as far as the Greenspace Scotland team are concerned, is that Rothesay should be a busy and vibrant town and an attractive destination in its own right, with better-looking buildings, more information about the town and better use of its public spaces.
And in his presentation Mr Irving made a suggestion which some may find controversial - that Rothesay's town centre should be used and developed with people in mind, and not cars.
"Physically and visually, a lot of the town is very badly connected," he said, "and a lot of that is caused by cars, traffic, parking and so on.
"There is a need for rationalised parking. You have a beautifully located square which doesn't work, partly because much of it is occupied by a car park."
One suggestion was that the promenade is now cut off from the rest of Rothesay after the building of the town's flood defence wall - and that the prom might be better off as an official car park, to free up other areas in the town presently used by vehicles.
Some other subjects might appear minor at first glance, but are actually much more complicated, such as the creation of a plan to repair broken and damaged gutters and pipes - where discussion almost immediately ran into questions of multiple ownership and health and safety.
One key point surrounded the 'ownership' of public spaces, in the light of a long list of evidence which shows that if people feel a sense that they own a particular space - even if it technically belongs to the local council - they are more likely to look after it.
Those who attended last Thursday's meeting will have a little more time to say how important the various 'placemaking' ideas for Rothesay are before a list is drawn up of tasks which might be put into practice.
