America’s Downtown Ghost Towns
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Slate
3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 July 2023
⏱️ 32 minutes
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Summary
It’s 2023 – and less than half of all Americans have returned to the office full time. That means U.S. downtowns from San Francisco to New York are emptier than they’ve been in decades. Offices are actually trending away from policies that mandate returning five days a week. So, how can cities get creative – and develop some new ways to boost the local economy?
Guest: Henry Grabar, Slate staff writer
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey Harry! Hello mate, how'd you fancy in the big match? |
| 0:04.1 | Well, fung enough I've been at both training grounds this week, |
| 0:06.8 | from what I saw, and you didn't hear this from me. |
| 0:09.4 | Your best bet is to have a few quit on half for two or more goals. |
| 0:13.0 | The lads are an absolute genius. |
| 0:14.5 | Sorry Harry, what was the name? |
| 0:15.9 | I've just told you, you need them lug holes cleaning pedal. |
| 0:18.8 | But Harry, sorry mate, I've got a run. |
| 0:20.8 | The dog's done a f***ing soldered slippers. |
| 0:24.0 | Harry, listen to Harry and make your best bet up bet Victor. |
| 0:27.9 | 18 plus, please gamble responsibly. |
| 0:34.1 | When was the last time that you like, |
| 0:37.7 | took a stroll through an American city's downtown? |
| 0:43.3 | Well, in April I was in Chicago and I actually went around downtown Chicago with the |
| 0:48.4 | specific ambition of diagnosing what was going on in downtown Chicago. |
| 0:58.5 | That's late Henry Grabar. He writes about cities and infrastructure, |
| 1:02.7 | and he used to live in Chicago. |
| 1:04.8 | But this story is not about his time as a resident. |
| 1:08.7 | It's about something happening in American downtowns right now, |
| 1:12.7 | a kind of hollowing out. |
| 1:14.8 | One that has left office vacancy rates higher than they've been in decades. |
| 1:19.9 | Henry's walk in Chicago is just the start of our story. |
... |
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