What’s in a name? How neighborhood rebrands can grease the wheels of gentrification

Jun 12, 2024
Neighborhood nicknames like SoHo or LoDo have become common in American cities. But what gets lost when neighborhoods rebrand?
Lower Downtown Denver has been referred to as “LoDo” since at least the 1980s. But more recently, a wave of two-syllable neighborhood nicknames are popping up across America.
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How might cities be able to get out of the dreaded "real estate doom loop"?

Jun 7, 2024
For cities whose downtown centers are struggling, investment in a core of residential, retail and entertainment spaces could help lure people back.
"Chicago really stands out because its activity is nearly back to normal," said Karen Chapple, director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto. "Yet its work-hour activity Monday to Friday, 8 to 6 is around 60%."
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Biking in cities can be complicated, and map apps can only help so much

Jan 31, 2024
For cyclists, navigating town is a complex equation of infrastructure, hills, barriers and more. Apps like Google Maps are still figuring it out.
Navigating a city on a bike is more complicated than simply putting a destination in a map and following the suggested route.
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Why are some downtowns booming again?

Aug 7, 2023
Foot traffic in downtown Salt Lake City reached 139% of pre-pandemic levels in spring. And other cities can learn from its example.
A cheaper cost of living, beautiful scenery and a booming economy helped the Greater Salt Lake area grow by 51,000 people last year.
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Here's what might happen if all that open office space stays empty

One thing seems likely, says Lisa Knee of EisnerAmper: real estate is going to need new, creative investors to stay on track.
Office building vacancies are climbing, property values are sagging. That might have implications for all of the investors tied up in commercial real estate debt.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The financial consequences of empty offices

Offices are at the epicenter of seismic pandemic shifts, per McKinsey's Aditya Sanghvi. They need to become places where people want to be.
Almost every company is reevaluating its relationship with commercial real estate, says Aditya Sanghvi of McKinsey.
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Hot travel destinations this holiday weekend? Cities

May 26, 2023
AAA projects a 7% increase in Americans traveling 50 miles or more from home this Memorial Day weekend compared to last year.
Above, visitors near the Las Vegas Strip in August 2020. While the pandemic gutted Vegas' local economy, tourism has roared back.
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For public good, not for profit.

Walmart’s store closures in Chicago highlight the challenges of urban big box retail

Apr 13, 2023
Walmart says that, collectively, its Chicago stores aren’t profitable. But academics point out they’ll still leave a hole when they’re gone.
A worker collects shopping carts at a Walmart store in Chicago. The company announced the closure of half of its stores in the city this week.
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Retail is recovering — and flowering — in smaller cities and the suburbs

Feb 1, 2023
A new report from the JPMorgan Chase Institute finds retail has followed consumers to where many more now work and live.
Consumers are continuing to spend — just closer to home. Above, people walk at an outdoor shopping area in Alpharetta, Georgia.
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Downtowns plan for a future with far fewer office workers

Dec 15, 2022
In New York City, daily office vacancy rates average about 50%. So it and other cities are trying to attract more visitors by converting office space to housing, improving public transit, and making their streets a destination.
Downtown Crossing, a major shopping area in Boston, on March 26, 2020.
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