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The Dispatch wrote
Suburbs revitalize their old downtowns, or build new ones, as community focal points
Friday, January 25, 2008
BY MARTIN ROZENMAN
Gahanna did it. Hilliard is about to do it. Now, Grove City plans to do it.
Creating town centers to renovate slumping downtowns is hot among central Ohio suburbs. Some have them (think Westerville and Worthington), and some don’t (think Upper Arlington and Whitehall).
It’s a community’s centerpiece, a gathering place that includes workplaces, shopping, dining and entertainment, said Hazel Morrow-Jones, associate dean in Ohio State University’s College of Engineering and an expert in city planning.
“Some of the movement is baby-boomer nostalgia,” she said. Part of it is driven by “younger people who think there was something in a downtown they missed.”
Related Stories:
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Baby-boomer nostalgia? How about an enjoyable life full of walking, entertainment, and social interaction? Baby-boomer nostalgia makes it sound disneyland-ish. Like some sort of novelty.
Downtowns have been the norm for thousands of years. It wasn’t until the last few decades when cheap cars and cheap gas allowed suburbs to became the norm.
Agreed. Makes me think more along these lines:
Who cares why they do it… The important thing is that more urban ideas are creeping into the champions of suburbia. I remember a few months back people criticizing the Creekside Gahanna development because of its high prices! We should be rejoicing that suburbanites are willing to pay top dollar to spread high density town centers to more remote areas.
Upper Arlington has no downtown, huh? Then where the hell was I in UA when I snapped these, Dispatch?
+1
Those photos look so nostalgic. Just like the olden days.
:)
To quote Babu Bhott: “People. Where are the people? Show me people??”