The ADRR

Many of today’s downtown leaders and stakeholders have little knowledge or any memories of the public disorder and its associated fear of crime that was a major scourge of our downtowns from the 1960s through the 1990s. Downtowns during those years were at their nadir. Downtown pedestrian activity became excessively cautious and less frequent during the daytime, and disappeared after dark. Businesses left or stayed away Concerns about crime and the fear of crime became prime considerations in business locational decisions. Physical decay often followed vacancies. Some downtowns turned into ghost towns. I came up in the downtown revitalization field during those years. I never want to see downtowns in that kind of situation again, but that possibility has reappeared.