Ten Years Later, a Renaissance in Lower Manhattan

In two articles, the Globe and Mail's Shawn McCarthy examines the rebirth of Lower Manhattan since the 9/11 attacks. The residential population has doubled partly in response to investments in new urban amenities, and new types of companies -- particularly media firms -- are flocking to the area. He writes,

"What was once a sterile enclave for banks and brokerage houses has become family friendly, with new parks, public schools and grocery stores springing up throughout the district known as Lower Manhattan...The downtown residents are drawn by what Harvard University urban economist Edward Glaeser calls the triumph of the 21st-century city: a victory over the crime, pollution and economic decline that were the hallmarks of major American cities a generation ago.

...Businesses are now moving back to Lower Manhattan or recommitting to the area, in part to escape the higher rents of Midtown, which is the U.S.'s largest and most expensive business district. The financial sector remains, by far, the largest private sector employer in the area, though professional services companies – like law firms – and technology companies and the tourist trade have increased their share of the employment market in the last decade. And now media companies are flocking to the downtown, taking advantage of lower rents and the growing sense of vitality, nightlife and diversity that the district offers."