Media Contacts: Javier Rojas, javier.rojas@csun.edu
Since the pandemic upended the world, the future of American downtowns has come into focus.
Considered the driving force for sales tax revenue in local municipalities, downtown districts felt the early brunt of the economic effects of pandemic restrictions. Businesses of all kinds were forced to pivot, adapting to meet the needs of the public in a most unusual period.
Today, faced with questions of hollowed out office spaces, loss of foot traffic and lagging transit numbers, cities across the country are looking for solutions that will help “revitalize downtown areas that represent the economic and cultural hub of these communities,” said California State University, Northridge urban studies and planning professor Craig Olwert.
“While there have been efforts to bring back some or most of pre-pandemic activity in these spaces, some aspects of these areas are forever changed due a number of factors.” Olwert said.
He pointed to people altering their habits and patterns and, in response, businesses have responded accordingly. Some have closed and others shifted their focus. Online retail boomed during the pandemic and that has lasted, Olwert said, as many big-box retail stores have downsized their footprint in downtown areas across the country, including Los Angeles and San Francisco.
While some downtown areas have nearly returned to or even exceeded their pre-pandemic foot traffic rates, cities with downtowns that exclusively catered to office workers are struggling to recover as remote and hybrid work has become increasingly popular. This has had a “domino effect” on other services and businesses, Olwert said, like restaurants, movie theaters and transit.
“When you have downtown areas with high office vacancy rates that also means all those lunch restaurants tend to struggle and possibly close,” Olwert said. “So, can these restaurants survive on three days a week of business? Or do they somehow have to make it that more people will live downtown so that they keep the businesses alive during the off times? That’s what many downtown businesses are asking themselves.
“Foot traffic is a big part of what drives the economy in these downtown areas and having more people out and about — whether for work, play, casual eating or shopping — is typically a reflection of the success of these places,” he continued. “Perception is everything because no one wants to visit a downtown area where there are no life or people around.”
Add in concerns of rising crime and homelessness and “people will typically stay away from downtown areas,” Olwert said. “Leading to even less foot traffic and an even murkier economic future.”
But there is hope, he said, as cities across the U.S. have attempted rethink their strategy in luring people back to their downtown areas. This includes mixed use developments that includes amenities like food halls, entertainment zones and emphasis on tourism, according to Olwert.
“I believe cities will probably become less business and more amenity oriented as American downtowns transition from an office focused economy and become places where people can live, work, and play,” Olwert said. “If there is a way to somehow make your downtown have that special feel where it is like ‘this is a place and it is different than somewhere else,’ then you have a chance of actually drawing people from not just from your city, but from outside the county, state and the world.”
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