America used to have dense bustling cities
(i.redd.it)
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This is the critical element here. Suburbanism is what has killed the bustling city center. People used to go into a city for their entertainment and such, but clever entrepreneurs brought those things out to where people actually lived; though these new businesses did so in strips and swaths (not centers) because there were no suburban centers to occupy. This encouraged the spread of franchises over individual businesses, and--once you had large chains--the chains could out-negotiate mom and pop stores on costs. Prices were lower, and, therefore, most Americans pursued low cost items and one-stop shopping over going to mulitiple mom and pop locations scattered around a metropolitan area.
The OP has missed the point that bustling cities may be something some people like, but others hate them. They are hardly a universal good in and of themselves. It is consumer choice that created shopping malls, then removed shopping malls from favor and created large chains and now is favoring online shopping over shopping at chains. This consumer choice is hardly the decline of a culture. But if it is, it is the world that WE have all created, not one political side or another.
Absolutely, look at all the shopping malls built from the late 60's and even into the 90's....all in suburbs where the people escaped to for a better life for themselves and better schools for their kids. Ain't rocket science.
That's not the only thing missing. They pulled up the trolly tracks at some point too and then replaced a whole block of buildings with a parking lot.
Yea talk about clean energy and less congestion. We had trolleys in so many cities eons ago. And they had to push urban sprawl and cars.
This exactly cities used to attract everyone to come downtown to shop, eat, see movies and work, it was safe. There were such unique things to see and do all of it, now it’s mainly gone, downtown Denver is a prime example.
Having been to Denver a couple times the thought each time was "this downtown would be so pleasant if one wasn't tripping over a homeless encampment every ten feet."
I grew up right outside Denver and left for a dirt road in Kansas in 2011
Best choice I ever made now that I see what my home state has become