Reversing The Ravages Of Urban Renewal

"Citizens of Las Cruces have been trying to reverse the ravages of urban renewal for decades with little progress. But this summer, with the passage of a master plan that was years in the making, momentum to revitalize downtown has picked up steam, despite skepticism from some who are understandably nervous about big redevelopment plans, given what happened to the city's downtown more than 30 years ago.

In the 1970's, Main Street in Las Cruces was replaced by a pedestrian mall, an urban planning idea popular at the time as a way to shore up downtown districts that were losing business to indoor malls. More than a hundred downtowns across the country closed streets to traffic and installed big planters and sidewalk furniture. The intent was to make downtowns more like suburban shopping districts..."