4 ms·

The answer is that it sucks to own one of those businesses, but things change and disruption happens. The answer isn't "the city's entire white-collar workforce

The answer is that it sucks to own one of those businesses, but things change and disruption happens. The answer isn't "the city's entire white-collar workforce needs to migrate downtown and back every day to provide an artificial customer base for $17 burritos".

VWWHFSfQ 2y ago
There is more benefit to a vibrant downtown city center than just "white collar" people visiting everyday. Bars, restaurants, cafes. People go to the post office, they go to salons. All of those things are gone now. In exchange for people staying home, and going to their local suburb's Target and Walmart to buy a sandwich, or go to a Starbucks. Get their nails done in a local chain stripmall place.
- roarcher 2y ago
  Those things are gone now because the only reason people were doing them downtown is because they had to be there for work. It's odd to suggest that people spending their money closer to home means shopping at large chain businesses, but spending downtown doesn't. Just because there isn't a Walmart in the city's corporate center doesn't mean you're patronizing Mom and Pop small businesses. You think that trendy gastropub with its gourmet hamburgers, cute waitresses that all share a suspiciously similar alt aesthetic, and tables full of people clad in business casual isn't a line item in some investment firm's portfolio? Guess where the Mom and Pops are? They're in that "stripmall place" near your house.
  - VWWHFSfQ 2y ago
    > Guess where the Mom and Pops are? They're in that "stripmall place" near your house. That's not where they are though. You see it, too. Those stripmalls are all dead-dead-dead. The only business is at the shopping centers and megastores.
    - roarcher 2y ago
      They are where I live. Guess it depends on the city. I can tell you where they most definitely aren't, though: downtown. Anybody who can afford that real estate is not the little guy. If they appear to be, that just means great effort (and money) was expended to create that image.

VWWHFSfQ 2y ago

There is more benefit to a vibrant downtown city center than just "white collar" people visiting everyday. Bars, restaurants, cafes. People go to the post office, they go to salons. All of those things are gone now. In exchange for people staying home, and going to their local suburb's Target and Walmart to buy a sandwich, or go to a Starbucks. Get their nails done in a local chain stripmall place.

roarcher 2y ago
Those things are gone now because the only reason people were doing them downtown is because they had to be there for work. It's odd to suggest that people spending their money closer to home means shopping at large chain businesses, but spending downtown doesn't. Just because there isn't a Walmart in the city's corporate center doesn't mean you're patronizing Mom and Pop small businesses. You think that trendy gastropub with its gourmet hamburgers, cute waitresses that all share a suspiciously similar alt aesthetic, and tables full of people clad in business casual isn't a line item in some investment firm's portfolio? Guess where the Mom and Pops are? They're in that "stripmall place" near your house.
- VWWHFSfQ 2y ago
  > Guess where the Mom and Pops are? They're in that "stripmall place" near your house. That's not where they are though. You see it, too. Those stripmalls are all dead-dead-dead. The only business is at the shopping centers and megastores.
  - roarcher 2y ago
    They are where I live. Guess it depends on the city. I can tell you where they most definitely aren't, though: downtown. Anybody who can afford that real estate is not the little guy. If they appear to be, that just means great effort (and money) was expended to create that image.