I have traveled to many regions of the United States. One norm I see around downtown areas, big or small, is the vast amount of large “run down” houses. What caused what appears to be once nice neighborhoods to deteriorate over time? Why was the problem so widespread across the United States?
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It’s usually tied to a loss of jobs or industry in that area.
For example, a steel mill town after the mill has shut down. A river port that’s not as important as it used to be. A town where the local factory has moved production offshore. There are hundreds of variations of this theme.
Once the jobs are gone, communities that used to thrive start to struggle. People can’t afford the real estate taxes or upkeep anymore, so they move away. The area falls into blight and neglect.
As far as “downtown” areas, the indoor shopping mall had its role as well. Before the early to mid 1970s the downtown area was where all the shops were. The shopping mall concept changed that by grouping stores together in an indoor atmosphere, climate controlled with ample parking. The mall was often not downtown, but on the outskirts of town, where land was cheaper. Stores that used to be downtown moved to the malls.
I witnessed this myself in my own hometown, where Sears, JC Penny’s, Woolworth’s, and several local shops had thrived downtown. When the very first indoor mall in our area opened around ’73 or ’74, several of the smaller shops left downtown and moved to the mall. Downtown started to decline a bit, but the big stores remained. By ’79 the second mall opened, and Sears, Penny’s and Woolworth moved out. Downtown became an economic ghost town.
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