Otis WhiteUrbanists pay a lot of attention to big cities. Why? Because we’re familiar with them, thanks to our travels. But what about midsize cities? What are their challenges? How are their challenges different from those of big cities? A think tank finds one intriguing difference: #Downtowns matter more in midsize cities than in big cities. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/small-and-midsized-downtown-recovery-overcoming-obstacles-and-uplifting-innovative-solutions-in-four-regions/
In MA, “gateway cities” are midsize cities in some type of distress, usually because of economic changes. State gov’t is getting serious about helping these struggling regional hubs, starting with their #downtowns. So what can a state gov’t do? It could help the cities that are ready for change with planning and organization. https://commonwealthbeacon.org/gateway-cities/couldnt-come-at-a-better-time-six-gateway-cities-to-get-economic-boost-in-downtown-districts/
‘Couldn’t come at a better time’: Six Gateway Cities to get economic boost in downtown districts
Malden, Holyoke, Fitchburg, Chelsea, Peabody, and Lowell were selected for the latest round of support last week. Each city will receive a three-year economic development fellow who will provide on-the-ground expertise, leadership, and planning to help support small businesses, real estate development, and arts and culture projects.
Philly’s Avenue of the Arts is called that because it connects so many performing-arts venues. It’s also a somewhat forbidding walk. There are plans to make it more inviting, with trees, wider sidewalks and outdoor dining. The inspiration: an improvement plan that enlivened an even better-known street, Paris’ Champs-Élysées. https://whyy.org/articles/avenue-of-the-arts-philadelphia-upgrades/ #downtowns
Let’s walk to the game! Atlanta is very good at building huge single-use places like its airport and sprawling residential suburbs. Or its giant downtown convention district that also hosts basketball and football #stadiums. Except there, it may soon try its hand at mixing in new uses, with housing and retail at the edge of its #NFL stadium. https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/01/new-housing-and-retail-could-rise-next-to-mercedes-benz-stadium/ #downtowns #CRE
You can probably come up with many examples of how theories shape action. A sports team needs a theory of how it can win. A young person needs a theory of success. Who else needs a theory? Landlords in #downtowns where empty storefronts are suddenly a big problem. A nonprofit offers a theory of leasing. https://www.spur.org/news/2025-12-16/how-san-jose-can-fill-its-vacant-ground-floor-office-spaces-speed-economic-recovery #CRE
How San José Can Fill Its Vacant Ground-Floor Office Spaces to Speed Economic Recovery: Q&A with Erika McLitus and Sujata Srivastava
Like many urban centers, downtown San José is grappling with low daytime foot traffic and high vacancies in office and commercial buildings. A new policy brief from SPUR suggests that filling empty ground-floor spaces is a critical first step to long-term economic revitalization. We spoke with the brief's authors, Erika McLitus and Sujata Srivastava, about how SPUR’s recommended policy changes can support local artists and entrepreneurs and bring new energy to downtown.
Book of the Week: “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World” is one of those books that makes the obvious apparent. The obvious thing: In the past century, cars with their insatiable appetite for #parking have changed our #downtowns, #neighborhoods and #suburbs in many bad ways. The book offers ways of ending the plague of parking. https://www.atlantaurbanist.com/book/paved-paradise/
Step 1 in a turnaround is understanding strengths and weaknesses. Then you build on strengths as you reduce weaknesses. Downtown Denver needs a turnaround, and one company’s CEO who is investing there points out a strength. The journey to work, he tells employees, involves an affordable #transit ride and a four-minute walk. https://denverite.com/2025/11/24/ibotta-downtown-denver-office-moved-in/ #downtowns #walkable
Denver is wrestling with how to turn around a downtown plagued by building vacancies and empty streets. Latest idea to bubble up: Make it “the nation’s largest signature ‘play’ district.” Think N.O.’s French Quarter, minus the booze. Prediction: It won’t work. Why? Because it doesn’t build from downtown’s strengths. https://denverite.com/2025/11/18/city-council-downtown-denver-area-plan/ #downtowns
novaTopFlexHype for the Future 8E: Richmond, Indiana
The City of Richmond, Indiana, is located in the east-central portion of the State of Indiana within Wayne County. The county seat of Wayne County, Richmond is the location of the Madonna of the Trail statue within the State, specifically on the east side of the city. However, apart from the Madonna of the Trail statue, the City of Richmond is often renowned for the associated Quaker and Shaker history of the community, as with related communities such as Lebanon, Ohio; Liberty, Indiana; and […]https://novatopflex.wordpress.com/2025/11/08/hype-for-the-future-8e-richmond-indiana/
The story of downtown shopping malls teaches us something about turnarounds in general. In the 1980s and 1990s, cities tried pumping life into ailing #downtowns by mimicking what had worked in suburbs. Today, these are almost uniformly dead places. What should cities have done? Focus not on liabilities but on downtown strengths, like walkability and transit. https://denverite.com/2025/10/24/city-buying-denver-pavilions-explained/
