Traditional downtowns are dead or dying in many U.S. cities − what’s next for these zones? https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/101323_downtown_growth_op/traditional-downtowns-are-dead-or-dying-many-us-cities-8722-whats-next-these-zones/
Many cities are confronting the prospect of an urban doom loop, with a massive oversupply of office and retail space, fewer commuters and a looming urban fiscal crisis, and the growth of commercial office complexes that has long been promoted has probably come to an end.
#Tucson #Arizona
When you factor in all the energy savings from people commuting less, this seem like a good thing overall. Change always brings disruption, but not all change is bad.
From above piece:
"In the Communist Manifesto, …Marx &…Engels famously wrote that under the pressures of dynamic capitalism, “all that is solid melts into air.” They could have been describing the ever-changing built form of the US, with people & money flowing to Main Street stores through the 1960s, then to suburban malls in the 1970s & 80s, then abandoning malls for revived downtowns & online shopping. Now, traditional downtowns may be in similar terminal decline."
From 2010: "10 American Cities That Are Dead Forever"
"A city does not die when its last resident moves away. Death happens when municipalities lose the industries and vital populations that made them important cities."
https://www.businessinsider.com/10-american-cities-that-are-dead-forever-2010-9?op=1
@TucsonSentinel
The opposite of what's happening in most Canadian cities, where downtowns continue to thrive. Spent a few days in downtown Toronto earlier this month and it's alive, full of people, and active everywhere.
@TucsonSentinel can we "convert" such areas to high-ish-density mixed-use/residential space, and de-sprawl to reduce carbon?
http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki/OptimisticNearFutureVision