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Downtown DC for example, is dead on the nights/weekends. A lot of establishments and stores aren't even open on the weekend. You see the same thing to a lesser extent in Boston and even downtown NYC (Lower Manhattan, not midtown). Those areas are structured around the M-F 9-5 workforce, not the pleasure crowd.
In both those cases, the dead office areas, are surrounded by some liveliest areas of the cities, often rather mixed use, with some offices in parts and lots of shopping and entertainment. Even elsewhere, it's common for areas a short walk away from the business district to be livelier. Helps that there are residents surrounding the downtown, even if not many in downtown itself.
Or does "downtown" refer to the urban core of a major metropolitan area?
By the end of the 19th century most American CBDs were strictly commercial with few residential amenities outside of hotels. It's not a question of urban sprawl insomuch that American cities quickly shifted to the segregation of zones, with residential, commercial and industrial areas separate from one another. Americans also never took to apartment living on a large scale, so outside of Manhattan and Chicago there aren't many cities with large middle to upper class high density residential areas that would have complimented the CBDs.
Baltimore's CBD is quiet after hours, but the larger urban core has many thriving urban neighborhoods that are popular dining destinations and are active well into the night.
As people moved so did business to service them ;plain and simple. But 26% of populations are boomers. That means they will be doing what they are now for 13 more years. Many are moving to smaller towns that as caused a boom and people to service their wants .Huge change because they are looking at location; not jobs and location as before.
Downtowns used to draw young adults looking for a social scene as well as shoppers. Both of these factors have changed considerably. Many of the people here on CD spend their time "socializing" and shopping online. It doesn't require a car, gas, or traveling outside your home.
Industry Owned Shopping Center Conglomerates might be a element to consider in the demise of "the downtown's" of many cities.
Some cities with the nature of flight to suburbia - led to many cities being stripped of their downtown vibrancy. In some cases this can be attributed to, the post segregation results. When there were downtown sections for blacks and one for whites; THEN, when segregation came, those who despised the idea of a fully integrated downtown's, became very motivated to expand suburbia; and in doing so the shopping center craze of the 1970's and 1980's took off with a massive growth expansion. Then came the strip malls set in many communities, adding more to the exodus from downtown vitality.
They offered cheaper lease and lured big box marquee stores to become anchors in the new malls.
The tragedy is, many local shop owners whom once filled the downtown's with unique shops also began to loose out to the national big box multi product sellers. This led to money not circulating within the community, but being sent back to the corporate headquarters of these big box sellers.
Anytime there is the aims at new forms of segregation's, there is and will continue to be massive losses of not just downtown's, but as demographic change in suburbia, they also close malls and seek out new suburb's in even more remote locations. The cycles continues.
It's always the actions of people that is the driving force to these types of change.
Yeah as stated above, I think the OP needs to be a lot more specific and state examples of exactly what cities she is referring to. It goes without saying that there are many vibrant downtowns throughout the US ranging from small and medium to major sized cities. And likewise there are small and major cities with dead downtowns all over. You can't make a blanket statement simply stated as "America's downtowns".
As to why the cities with dead downtowns are lacking in vibrancy has a lot to do with economic factors and de-industrialization in some cities. In other cities it was mid 20th century urban planning that did a lot of damage destroying historic architecture in place of parking lots and freeways to accommodate cars along with sterile office buildings.
There are too many cities to list as examples that have seen a lot of re-investment in restoring downtown vibrancy since the 90's. Denver is one of the best examples I can think of as a success story in that category. Cities like Boston and San Francisco have had improvement over the years, but I think they've always maintained a healthy level of vibrancy to some degree. In a nutshell, the key to having a successful downtown is to have people living in or near downtown with strong core neighborhoods.
Excellent post. Charlotte, North Carolina is one city that is guilty of the urban planning that destroyed a lot of it's historic architecture and flavor. A lot of regret is expressed over that from life long residents. But Charlotte has become a transplant magnet and that is revitalizing the city, in one sense. However, from what I see, more and more it is UPPER INCOME people that are moving back to the cities, and development is being almost exclusively geared towards them. But the strong blue collar "core" neighborhoods inside the cities that once existed will not be there again because average income people cannot afford the nicer areas of the cities, and the older areas where they use to reside are now, unfortunately, the undesirable parts of town.
Anytime there is the aims at new forms of segregation's, there is and will continue to be massive losses of not just downtown's, but as demographic change in suburbia, they also close malls and seek out new suburb's in even more remote locations. The cycles continues.
It's always the actions of people that is the driving force to these types of change.
The moving farther out to build new suburbs is reversing in many areas. Some inner suburbs are increasing density and others are ripe for redevelopment. Schools are often the stumbling block as many young families will not experiment improving an area and risk an underperforming school district.
Last edited by Lincolnian; 11-30-2014 at 07:10 AM..
this "white flight" is 100% a reality. I work in Minneapolis, not actually "downtown" but you can see the skyscrapers from my work. lets see, the bar across the street, there is a few stabbings and at least one shooting every year.
I wouldn't be caught dead living in or near minneapolis. we have 10 Ft barbed wire fence around our workplace, and upper management even has garage stalls .
Maybe if I didn't risk getting shot, or stared at by the people standing on the corners staring in my window, it would be easier ,along with 1290 other things that would have to improve.
White flight has nothing to do with it
it's just a result of this fenomenon, it's like saying that you cut yourself because you were bleeding.
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