Reimagining Cities-Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop

DESTINATION RETAIL, ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICTS AND “ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS” The Center City District, the place management organization for Downtown Philadelphia, published a report in 2023 titled Downtowns Rebound , which analyzed 26 Downtowns across the nation to assess the lasting impacts of the events of 2020. The report found that, while Downtown residents are vital to the vibrancy of city centers, they represented only 11.2% of the total volume of people on Downtown streets in 2023. 86 In contrast, non-resident workers in the 26 cities made up 27.1% of the daily population, while visitors accounted for the majority, at 61.7%. Our study of 15 cities found a similar pattern, with visitors accounting for 67% of total foot traffic in WalkUPs—slightly higher than the findings in the Center City District report. When visitors arrive in a city, where do they go? In the 15 cities we studied, visitors generally frequent Downtown, Downtown Adjacent and Urban Commercial WalkUPs equally—with each area capturing 25% to 30% of total visitor traffic. Urban universities only get 10% to 15% of visitors. However, it is noteworthy that despite having the smallest share of visits, Urban University WalkUPs are the only type to have higher visitor levels in 2023 than they did pre-pandemic in 2019.

86 Downtowns Rebound: The Data Driven Path to Recovery. Center City District, 2021.

Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop 65