| Through the mid-20th century, metropolitan areas in the US typically developed with a downtown that was a region's center for commercial and retail activity. The advent of the building of suburban cities in the post World War II era altered this pattern as new centers developed in the periphery of all regions. By the late 20th century metropolitan regions were characterized by a polycentric design. These new land use patterns led to new challenges for many central cities in the US. A persistent policy question has been whether or not this pattern of developed retards regional growth. The issue is whether a deteriorating core impacts the wealth of an entire region. If it does then regional programs to retard the suburbanization of commercial and retail activity would be valuable.; Examining 162 downtowns in the United States, using multivariate regression analysis and canonical correlation analysis the study finds that the composition and level of distress of downtown's residents and the vibrancy of the area are associated with regional growth. Residents' well-being, housing characteristics, employment in the service sector, and commercial vitality were all found to be associated with the various measures of regional economic performance.; This study also stresses downtown's symbolic role as an attractor of people and businesses to an entire region. CBDs are still an important node of activity, not only for businesses but also for residents. Downtown areas of core or central cities have an impact on a region's image. As a result, a downtown area's economic role is of importance to the entire region and the traditional CBD is important in the success or failure of it respective region. Since the entire region is one market, downtowns, contribute to its economic success.; The study has found that suburbanites' welfare may be harmed (by means of lower incomes, stagnation or even deterioration of population and employment) if downtowns and central cities are distressed and blighted. Downtowns generate a substantial share of employment and revenues for their city and MSA and are vital to their milieu, image, and economic success. Thus, cities and their suburbs are interdependent; the economic success of one is linked to the economic success of the other. |
