Reimagining Cities-Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop

THE GREAT STABILIZERS: RESIDENTS

Residents help stabilize neighborhoods by providing a consistent presence, unlike visitors who are sensitive to economic shifts, perceptions of crime and other challenges cities face. In our 15 cities, residents make up 13.2% of the WalkUP foot traffic on any given day, compared to just 6.7% in Downtowns.

Among the four WalkUP types studied, resident employees make up only 1.7% of the foot traffic, while non-employee residents account for 11.5%. Commute length is the primary factor driving remote work, 94 and research from Downtowns Rebound shows that proximity to the office (especially within two miles) strongly influences in-office attendance. Cities that attract more residents can see benefits not only in multifamily housing and retail—possibly through converted office spaces—but also in the office stock itself. There is a reason office owners should care about having residential areas within walking, biking or transit distance of the office. Rental housing is important for filling streets and supporting retail and office spaces. However, for sale housing can be even more impactful. Given that WalkUP homeowners have invested their largest asset in the area, they are more invested in its long-term performance and quality of life than renters. Since for-sale housing is the largest real estate asset class by square footage and value, growing its market share makes business sense. Homeowners could become the “great stabilizers” of WalkUPs.

94 Cushman & Wakefield Experience per Square Foot (XSF) survey data.

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