A survey of downtowns by the Fannie Mae Foundation and Brookings Institution finds that downtowns are making a comeback.
"Downtown is Back" seemed to be a common observation throughout the 1990s. It turns out that thiswas more than wishful thinking. Among this sample of 24 cities, 18 downtowns saw increases in theirdowntown populations.In a lot of ways, the story of downtown is a counter trend of what is happening in the rest of urbanAmerica. While most central cities are losing population relative to their metropolitan statistical areas(MSAs), most downtowns are gaining a larger share of MSA population. While cities such as Charlotteand Phoenix are booming, their downtowns are getting weaker. Race and immigration play a differentrole in downtowns as well. Compared to cities? overall population changes, the downtown populationgain is less weighted toward blacks and Hispanics. Increases in white residents led the resurgence indowntown living-in stark contrast to the general decline in city white population. Note: The title below links directly to an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
Thanks to Brookings Institution
FULL STORY: Downtown Rebound

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.

Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?

Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
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