Businesses that traditionally serve commuters have had to make adjustments to stay in business as remote work empties out central business districts.

Small businesses in downtowns across the country are struggling to figure out their future as the pandemic wears on and a return to the traditional office seems further and further away, report Mae Anderson and Tom Krisher. "[N]ow that many companies have postponed plans to bring workers back due to a surging number of COVID-19 cases spurred by the Delta variant, downtown businesses are reckoning with the fact that adjustments made on the fly could well become permanent."
"In Lower Manhattan, 224 businesses closed in 2020 and 2021, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. About 100 have opened." Lyle Richardson, chief operating officer for restaurant operator A. Marshall Hospitality in Nashville and board member for the Tennessee Hospitality Association, says "he has seen the city’s restaurant industry ravaged by the coronavirus epidemic and estimates that hundreds of restaurants have closed."
Some businesses are seeing a shift in customers. At one restaurant in Manhattan, "[t]he clientele has changed from workers to younger people and families from nearby Battery Park City." According to Jorge Guzman, an assistant professor of business management at Columbia University, "the shift of economic activity away from downtowns is likely to last" as entrepreneurs seek cheaper rents and new customer bases. Meanwhile, business owners warily prepare for the fall as new COVID-19 variants continue to disrupt daily life, using lessons learned so far to adjust their business models and stay afloat.
FULL STORY: Downtown businesses in the U.S. and overseas adapt to survive as COVID means fewer office workers

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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