What is that balance? Better to ask: what do humans do? Work, shop, eat, drink, learn, recreate, convene, worship, heal, visit, celebrate, sleep: these are all activities that people should not have to leave downtown to accomplish. While there are exceptions, most large and midsized American downtowns possess a good supply of all of the above except places to sleep, lost to the twentieth-century suburban exodus. Moreover, thanks to the paucity of housing, many of the other categories are unable to thrive. Specialty shopping may remain, but food markets are rare. Restaurants do their best to
...more
