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"Foot traffic in Downtown Crossing remains roughly one-third of what it was in the winter before the pandemic, according to the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District. The number of people actually going into the office is down even more, roughly one-seventh of what it was in the Before Times, based on information from building security firm Kastle Systems. That puts Boston behind each of the 10 major cities where Kastle tracks key-card swipes. Ameet Amin, Kastle’s Northeast general manager, suspects Boston’s reliance on public transit and the winter weather are among the main reasons.
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Segun Idowu, Wu’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion, said he plans to reconvene the folks who were in that Eagle Room meeting, in early March, to offer some solutions and hash out more ideas.
His department is still in brainstorming mode now. Possible ideas include a rental rebate program, more small-business relief funds, and what would amount to a PR campaign to show people the experiences they’re missing while they’re at home, staring at colleagues on Zoom. As spring arrives, city officials will look at fostering outdoor workplaces in pocket parks, and eventually bringing large-scale gatherings again to City Hall Plaza once construction there ends this summer. Longer term, Idowu said he wants to help landlords seriously consider new uses, such as childcare and events, for the large empty lobbies that occupy the ground floor of the district’s skyscrapers.
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The private sector, of course, has its own ideas — though no one will argue if Wu becomes downtown’s biggest cheerleader. Everyone has a suggestion or two: free meter parking on Saturdays, a Greenway concert series, or maybe a road race.
Jim Rooney, chief executive at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, suggests dipping into Boston’s pot of federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars — the city still has more than $350 million to allocate — to subsidize first-floor rents for retail and restaurant tenants; maybe Black- and Hispanic-owned businesses, he said, could be given preferential treatment. And Pam Messenger, who chairs the downtown business improvement district’s board, suggests something as simple as a break on liquor license renewal fees could go a long way.
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One idea that often comes up: turning some office space into apartments or condos, to bring more foot traffic and create much-needed housing. The Financial District’s zoning allows residential, but would it be financially feasible? Converting office towers to residential use can be tough, particularly those with larger floor plates, because the units would require different windows and plumbing. A few smaller-scale conversions have succeeded — such as the apartments on the top floors of a Verizon switching building in Chinatown, or in the old Conrad and Chandler’s store next to the Orpheum.
Maybe the Wu administration can help similar projects along with Community Preservation Act money, or other city-controlled affordable housing funds. Bringing in more residents could prove crucial for downtown’s vibrancy if — as many predict — remote work persists long after the pandemic ends."
Boston should pounce on all those ideas but I fear the city will be lazy and lean too much into "lab space/life sciences" In reality, those buildings are massive and squat and house very few employees at any one given time. They're highly specialized jobs in buildings with massive physical footprints. not good at all for "vibrancy". But it seems most of that space is going in Cambridge/SouthBoston/Seaport and not right downtown. The lots in Downtown Boston are too narrow. We will see what Wu is really about.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 02-16-2022 at 08:51 AM..
1. It's not truly an apples-to-apples comparison. Unlike most of the "10 largest cities," Philadelphia's city limits are nearly exclusively inner-city or downtown core neighborhoods, whereas cities like Dallas or Houston or Phoenix city limits contain much larger share of typically higher-earning suburban neighborhoods. It's why the Philly metro overall still has higher or comparable income levels than most of the other Top 10 city metro areas.
Yes, but many of those neighborhoods are still oddly/extremely poor. And that's what makes Philly -Philly, its density and urbanity. We need to stop comparing northern cities that way- it's a cop-out. Those sunbelt cities have suburbs too.
Yes, but many of those neighborhoods are still oddly/extremely poor. And that's what makes Philly -Philly, its density and urbanity. We need to stop comparing northern cities that way- it's a cop-out. Those sunbelt cities have suburbs too.
Not all of them do: don't forget that Cities Without Suburbs was written by the mayor of one such city, Albuquerque, N.M.
But most of those that do were also able to annex much of their post-World War II suburban growth, at least until state laws made doing so more difficult where such laws were passed.
The cities of New York and Philadelphia both had large tracts of land within their city limits that remained largely undeveloped at the end of World War II. Staten Island and most of Northeast Philadelphia were both built out mainly in this period, which means that both of those cities have large middle-middle-class "suburban" areas (that also diverge from the dominant politics of the cities that contain them). Boston's West Roxbury section partly fits this pattern too.
Yes, but many of those neighborhoods are still oddly/extremely poor. And that's what makes Philly -Philly, its density and urbanity. We need to stop comparing northern cities that way- it's a cop-out. Those sunbelt cities have suburbs too.
That wasn't really my point, though.
To me, it really comes down to the fact that metro areas are a much better barometer of economic patterns than the individual municipalities that comprise those metro areas. Today's economies by default are cross-sectional in nature. Commuting patterns, flows of goods and services, money being spent, etc. all happens very fluidly within particular regions.
This isn't about obscuring the fact that Philadelphia has areas with severe poverty; obviously that exists. But as far as comparisons with other regions go, you're really not getting a complete picture of the poverty (or wealth) that exists without looking at that broader regional economy, or the metro area.
That's the only way to really account for suburban vs. inner-city disparities that are often found in comparing economies by relatively arbitrary central city limits, which are comprised in vastly different ways across the US.
To me, it really comes down to the fact that metro areas are a much better barometer of economic patterns than the individual municipalities that comprise those metro areas. Today's economies by default are cross-sectional in nature. Commuting patterns, flows of goods and services, money being spent, etc. all happens very fluidly within particular regions.
This isn't about obscuring the fact that Philadelphia has areas with severe poverty; obviously that exists. But as far as comparisons with other regions go, you're really not getting a complete picture of the poverty (or wealth) that exists without looking at that broader regional economy, or the metro area.
That's the only way to really account for suburban vs. inner-city disparities that are often found in comparing economies by relatively arbitrary central city limits, which are comprised in vastly different ways across the US.
But why would we be talking metro area in this thread about downtowns? Makes sense to mention Philly poverty because it's directly adjacent to downtown. I've always fundamentally disagreed with this though. You are getting a full picture of the poverty in Philadelphia by looking at Philadelphia.
But why would we be talking metro area in this thread about downtowns? Makes sense to mention Philly poverty because it's directly adjacent to downtown. I've always fundamentally disagreed with this though. You are getting a full picture of the poverty in Philadelphia by looking at Philadelphia.
Southeastern PA/South NJ =/= Philadelphia
I'd fundamentally disagree with this, because there's a long history of economic/planning decisions that have precipitated Philadelphia bearing the brunt of poverty in which the suburbs have played a central role. This is true of most cities, honestly. But I digress.
If we want to turn the discussion to poverty in/around downtowns, that's all well and good. But that's not how the introduction of the poverty topic was framed; city-wide poverty rates in Philadelphia certainly do not speak to the average neighborhood in Center City or its surroundings. The city's poverty has long been very heavily disproportionate in its North, (far) West, and Southwest sections.
I'd fundamentally disagree with this, because there's a long history of economic/planning decisions that have precipitated Philadelphia bearing the brunt of poverty in which the suburbs have played a central role.
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Exactly. Those the results and legacies of those policies are fundamentally what makes Philadelphia, Philadelphia. That type of redlining, industrial and racial politics. Same thing I say when it comes to Boston Vs Cambridge/Somerville.
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