Downtowns Were Never Just for Work
While urban boosters worry about the white-collar workers dragging their feet back to central business districts Monday through Friday, downtowns have been showing signs of life at an unexpected time: the weekend.
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Data from 26 of the largest US downtowns show that while median foot traffic approaches three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels on the weekdays, 94% of activity has returned on the weekends.
Nashville, Philadelphia and Charlotte are among the cities that are reporting weekends that are even livelier than they used to be, with foot traffic that exceeds 100% of its 2019 baseline.
This indicates that despite the doomsday narratives, people are still “more than willing” to go downtown, says Paul Levy, the president & CEO of Center City District, downtown Philadelphia’s business improvement district, which provided the weekend foot traffic analysis exclusively to Bloomberg CityLab using data from the second quarter of this year.?
Readers: Are you heading downtown on the weekends? Tell us more by joining the conversation below.
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12 个月@
Entrepreneur, Vocal Coach, Inspirational Vocal Recording Artist,
1 年I think Charlottes uptown is becoming too compact. There’s tons of activities to enjoy outside of the city. The smaller surrounding area a perfect for me.
Elevator Mechanic IUEC Local 5
1 年Philly has adapted to changes over the years , some really cool new spots have opened up. It’s definitely a positive in a world filled with negativity
Patient Care Liasion @ Inspire Dental Nolensville Tn | RDA, Office Manager
1 年Nashville is out of control. As a Native , the growth is uncontrollable & uncertain. The crime has gotten way out of control. And the natives are as they say Unicorns. Because of the rising cost , being pushed out with so many people moving in . They love Nashville but want to change every single thing about it . And the legislature can not keep up with it , and are not trying to honestly do anything to make it safe & affordable for anyone. As everyone keeps moving in & changing it way to quickly. In my opinion it is no longer desirable. Downtown is a hot mess . Why would anyone want to go is my question. And finding anywhere outside of Nashville is growing just as rapidly. The traffic is insane . And they just keep building on any property they can find . I would leave in an instant if I could . But my mother is here and elderly, my father recently passed. And I have 2 girls in high school that it wouldn’t be fair to remove them from this point in their lives . We are hanging on as long as we can . Generations built here , and to think of where to go is just as overwhelming. Thanks for listening!