Several weeks ago I explored one of the most obvious consequences of the veritable implosion of the commercial airline industry. After several years of declining enplanements and repeated consolidations of the major airlines, we will inevitably confront many manifestations of what I saw at Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport: virtually an entirely vacant concourse. This blog article
In the previous part to this study, I explored the similar population trends of two major Midwestern cities, St. Louis and Detroit. Both cities have endured significant losses since their peak in the 1950 census. Interestingly, Detroit seems to absorb the lion’s share of critical attention for its persistent economic malaise, yet St. Louis has
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth century that one could claim it was wiped off the face of the earth. Huge swathes of what were once densely settled
In the world’s most overbuilt nation for retail space, any outside influence can induce an infinitesimal change that nonetheless completely transforms the landscape for commerce. The retailers who continue to succeed in this economy—particularly impressive given the growing portent of online shopping’s eventual dominance—help shed light on what type of structures/milieus they are seeking to
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental shift in typology, akin to what transpired in the 1950s and 60s when pedestrian-scaled downtowns lost all their commerce to suburban strip
My latest is a first for me as a blogger: a book review. The full-length review is now available at Urbanophile and should be accessible soon via other online outlets; I will update this blog post accordingly. The book, Michael Tolle’s Who Killed Downtown? Norristown, Pennsylvania from Main Street to the Malls distinguishes itself through its
With a constantly changing tenancy, it is no surprise that apartment complexes and renter-occupied housing age quickly—usually much faster than owner-occupied housing. The disparity between these two fundamental housing contracts (renting and owning) owes a great deal to basic human psychology: we are more impelled to take care of property if it belongs to us
While most evidence suggests that the future of the American metropolitan area will hinge upon further decentralization—after all, it has continued unabated for the last seventy years—most large metros have a few suburbs that buck the trend. A few years ago I featured Bexley, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, which largely matured in the middle
I have chronicled the tireless migration of retail across metropolitan landscapes several times in the past; it formed the central topic of one of my earliest blog posts. Unfortunately, most of my posts have focused on the blight left by outdated retail typologies: the dead malls, exsanguinated big boxes, pockmarked parking lots, blighted strip malls,
These days it’s hard not to ponder some of the decisions property owners were making to downtowns at the dawn of widespread suburbanization that took place in the 1950s. The small southern Louisiana city of Thibodaux (population 14,500) has a solid regional university (Nicholls State) a mile to the west of a fairly well-preserved historic
Several weeks ago I explored one of the most obvious consequences of the veritable implosion of the commercial airline industry. After several years of declining enplanements and repeated consolidations of the major airlines,
In the previous part to this study, I explored the similar population trends of two major Midwestern cities, St. Louis and Detroit. Both cities have endured significant losses since their peak in the
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth
In the world’s most overbuilt nation for retail space, any outside influence can induce an infinitesimal change that nonetheless completely transforms the landscape for commerce. The retailers who continue to succeed in this
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental
My latest is a first for me as a blogger: a book review. The full-length review is now available at Urbanophile and should be accessible soon via other online outlets; I will update this
With a constantly changing tenancy, it is no surprise that apartment complexes and renter-occupied housing age quickly—usually much faster than owner-occupied housing. The disparity between these two fundamental housing contracts (renting and owning)
While most evidence suggests that the future of the American metropolitan area will hinge upon further decentralization—after all, it has continued unabated for the last seventy years—most large metros have a few suburbs
I have chronicled the tireless migration of retail across metropolitan landscapes several times in the past; it formed the central topic of one of my earliest blog posts. Unfortunately, most of my posts
These days it’s hard not to ponder some of the decisions property owners were making to downtowns at the dawn of widespread suburbanization that took place in the 1950s. The small southern Louisiana
