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Lets face it, most US downtowns are pretty lackluster.
Portland and Seattle are good exceptions. Neither city is particularly dense or urban. But, they have vibrant mixed use downtowns.
There is no reason why these can't be the norm around the country.
Which city or cities are making the best progress in this regard?
Austin, Nashville, and Miami to a certain extent have pretty lively downtowns. Houston's is coming up with a new shopping area, urban park, and more living options,
I can't speak for most cities but I can for Tampa and for how boring its Downtown has been known to be, I can see that changing. The New Tampa Museum of Art, the Tampa Bay History Center, and the Glazer Children's Museum have all recently opened. The Tampa riverwalk is still being built, new parks have been put in, the Streetcar line is being extended into Downtown, and a lot of residential towns and condos have went up in the past couple of years. If Florida builds the new High speed rail, Downtown Tampa will have a stop bringing in more tourists aswell.
I am all for development of downtowns, would love to see many of these cities develop a more comprehensive plan with mixed use and a human scale/feel. Less parking and Steel boxes and more human scaled street-scapes, just saw that Buckhead is developing a more pedestrian friendly area in their core, will be excited to see how all these play out!
From my personal experience, Denver seems to be doing a good job in pushing people towards their downtown. It has the potential to become a very nice place.
I can't speak for most cities but I can for Tampa and for how boring its Downtown has been known to be, I can see that changing. The New Tampa Museum of Art, the Tampa Bay History Center, and the Glazer Children's Museum have all recently opened. The Tampa riverwalk is still being built, new parks have been put in, the Streetcar line is being extended into Downtown, and a lot of residential towns and condos have went up in the past couple of years. If Florida builds the new High speed rail, Downtown Tampa will have a stop bringing in more tourists aswell.
Tampa has the potential to have an amazing downtown, particularly with Ybor City at its outskirts. I think the conversion of Franklin Street to a pedestrian mall was a good move.
From my personal experience, Denver seems to be doing a good job in pushing people towards their downtown. It has the potential to become a very nice place.
Absolutely. I had done a bit of research for a project on the Denver Library and it's located in one of the most impressive art districts (architecturally speaking I've never actually been to the museums) in the country. I believe they have a light rail system up and running as well.
I can't speak for most cities but I can for Tampa and for how boring its Downtown has been known to be, I can see that changing. The New Tampa Museum of Art, the Tampa Bay History Center, and the Glazer Children's Museum have all recently opened. The Tampa riverwalk is still being built, new parks have been put in, the Streetcar line is being extended into Downtown, and a lot of residential towns and condos have went up in the past couple of years. If Florida builds the new High speed rail, Downtown Tampa will have a stop bringing in more tourists aswell.
Nice...lots of good cultural attractions happening there. I wish I could be hopping on the high-speed rail from downtown Orlando straight there, but there is no stop planned for our city center. Lakeland yes, but downtown Orlando, no. I guess you can only have so many stops before it's not high-speed anymore.
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I guess you can only have so many stops before it's not high-speed anymore.
