The Future of Southern Downtowns

Downtown residential development has become a rallying cry for urban leaders across the nation and South. In an attempt to turn urban cores into places that bustle 24/7, public officials have invested in efforts to persuade more individuals to live downtown.

Southern leaders interested in downtown development should consider the findings of a new study by Eugenie Birch of the Brookings Institution. Birch’s analysis of population, housing and demographic trends in 44 large America cities between 1970 and 2000 yielded several key findings:

• Downtowns experienced a renaissance during the 1990s. The number of individuals living in downtowns grew by 10 percent and the number of downtown households rose by 13 percent.
• Downtown populations have become more ethnically diverse compared to 20 years ago.
• Downtowns contain a larger percentage of residents who are young and college-educated compared to cities and suburbs.
• Downtowns house some of a city’s most and least affluent households.
  

The 16 large Southern cities included in Birch’s study posted a mixed performance during the 1990s. Collectively, the number of individuals in Southern downtown grew by 8.8 percent during the 1990s. Miami’s 31 percent increase in the number of downtown residents was the region’s largest, while Columbus, Georgia, saw its downtown population drop by 24 percent.

Additionally, the long-term trends for the South’s downtowns are concerning. Between 1970 and 2000, large Southern cities saw their downtown populations decline by 22 percent even though their total populations grew by one-third.

The Brookings’ study suggests that downtown residential development is not necessarily the best tool for economic growth in the South. A handful of Southern downtowns – Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Norfolk, New Orleans (pre-Katrina), Chattanooga, Dallas and Miami – show promise and have the potential to attract the affluent, well-educated young people whom economic developers covet.

Many other Southern downtowns, however, actually are barely growing or losing residents. These cities include Austin, Lafayette, Columbus, Jackson, Orlando, San Antonio and Shreveport. These downtowns have older, less educated and less affluent residents.

The data presented in the new report should caution Southern leaders against jumping automatically onto the bandwagon of downtown residential development. Such a strategy may be perfectly appropriate for certain cities but perfectly inappropriate for others. Decisions about public investments therefore should be made on an individual basis rather than through a “one-size-fits-all” approach.