What’s Really Happening in America’s Downtowns? Your Questions Answered.

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

Daily News, News

4.1 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2024

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are America’s downtowns doomed or are they thriving? Depending on where you look, the answer may be different. In some cities, like St. Louis, work from home has accelerated ‘doom loop’ scenarios, where businesses leave urban centers, causing tax revenue to fall and more residents and businesses to leave as well. Other cities, like Detroit, seem to be going through a downtown renaissance. WSJ commercial property reporter Konrad Putzier answers your questions about what’s happening with urban real estate and what it will take to get Americans to go back downtown. Luke Vargas hosts. Further Reading Chicago to Offer Most Generous Subsidies in U.S. to Save Its Downtown The Real Estate Nightmare Unfolding in Downtown St. Louis Offices Around America Hit a New Vacancy Record Reversing the Real-Estate Doom Loop Is Possible. Just Look at Detroit. Big Tech Is Downsizing Workspace in Another Blow to Office Real Estate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:14.4	slash Wall Street.
0:17.0	Hey what's news listeners it's Sunday June 23rd. I'm Luke Vargas for the
0:22.0	Wall Street Journal and this is What's News Sunday, the show where
0:25.6	we tackle the big questions about the biggest stories in the news by reaching out to our
0:29.9	colleagues around the newsroom to help explain what's happening in our world.
0:34.4	And this week we're looking at the changing landscape of American cities, and specifically
0:39.6	their downtowns, normally bustling areas but which in some parts of the country are
0:44.4	emptier than they've been in decades.
0:46.8	We'll get a snapshot of the state of American downtowns
0:49.7	and look at the strategies that some are turning to in order to
0:52.4	orchestrate in urban renaissance.
0:54.6	All right, let's do it.
0:56.8	Depending on who you ask, some of America's biggest cities are either doomed or thriving.
1:03.4	In one much discussed scenario called the Doom Loop, as people stop going into the office
1:09.2	businesses that cater to those workers lose customers, and that in turn starts to sap cities of
1:15.1	their attractiveness to residents, leading to lower property values and lower tax revenue for
1:21.3	city governments to pay for services.
1:24.0	The city of St. Louis, for instance, is in the middle of one such doom loop now.
1:29.0	But elsewhere, other cities boast revitalized downtowns, and their officials and their residents, as we heard
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