The Downtown Vitality Index measures how central cities are adjusting to post-pandemic conditions.
An analysis from The Business Journals compared over 40 large metro areas to assess their post-pandemic recovery and found that Tampa, Florida—“buoyed by a diverse economy, a burgeoning innovation ecosystem and strong in-migration”—stood above the pack in a variety of metrics. Ty West outlines the results of the analysis in the Washington Business Journal.
West quotes urbanist Richard Florida, who predicts that the era of “Covid-related relocations” to Sunbelt cities is over, with costs in these areas having reached historic highs. “Florida said that could create opportunities for places like Pittsburgh, Detroit and Cleveland.”
A major takeaway from the analysis: “Few downtowns or central business districts can claim a strong, across-the-board recovery from Covid-19. Almost everyone has work to do to secure their future.”
The article describes the metrics used in the Downtown Vitality Index, which include commuting trends, urban hotel occupancy, transit ridership, office space occupancy/absorption, downtown migration trends, and airport traffic trends. See the source article for details and key lessons from each metric.
FULL STORY: Downtown Vitality Index: Who is winning the Covid-19 comeback?
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Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association