How is your city's downtown and inner city?

Question

What kind of condition is your city's downtown? Run down, vibrant, would you live there or shop there, etc?

Where do you live and how far do you commute every day to work?

Answer 1

For a long while (through the 70's and part of the 80's) it was kind of abandoned... there were shops here and there, but except for special events, like Fiesta, downtown was largely neglected and forgotten. Through the rest of the 80's and 90's, though, downtown was revitalized in big ways... Rivercenter Mall was built over the Riverwalk area, the downtown library was rebuilt... whoever the "powers that be" are that decide and act on reviatlization projects, they did a great job of breathing life back into S.A.'s downtown... 3 Spurs championships helped as well.

It's a much more vibrant place than it was when I was a teen (70's), and I feel much safer nowadays when I am downtown.

Traffic-wise, it can still be a mess. Would I choose to live downtown? No. I don't feel THAT safe. Shop there? Well, considering it's really set up for tourists, I'd rather just shop closer to where I live. It's a great place to go with out-of town friends... or to hang out during Fiesta... or after a "Broadway show at the Majestic... or during the summer, to take the kids to the wax museum or the Children's Museum... but, mostly, I live, work, and shop in the rest of San Antonio. Away from the traffic and the tourists.

Answer 2

Well, in my hometown there's been some revitalization of our downtown and our inner city. Downtown has turned out very nicely, other than a couple architectural blunders. The museums that have opened there have made it a nice place to shop, and to live as well, from what I hear. I have a friend that lives downtown.
Our inner city has gotten a lot better over the years. It used to be that EVERYONE knew to stay out of the inner city (known as Hilltop) at night. Now, it's a lot safer.
Traffic was HORRIBLE. Most people knew to avoid commuting in town as much as possible.
That's in Tacoma, Washington. Population is about 300,000 or so.

The town I live in now (in Germany) has virtually NO crime. It has a population of about 4000 Germans, and roughly 10000 Americans. It's so tiny that there IS no "inner city", and the downtown area is pretty small too. It consists of three or four bars, a couple electronic shops, a post office, two bakeries, a pharmacy, and a couple clothing stores. That's about it.
It's very pretty though. Most of the buildings date back to the mid 19th century, although the cemetery dates back a couple hundred years, the gate to the cemetery is from the 15th century, and the tower, which used to be part of the original city walls, dates back to the 14th century.
Over the past two years, the most crime we've had is some theft, a case of arson, a couple cases of sexual assault, and a lot of barfights. That's about it.
As far as traffic goes, it's not bad at all, though from what I hear, it's hard to get on post prior to PT, and it's a pain getting into our housing area after the day ends. Other than that, traffic isn't a problem at all.

Answer 3

my towns a small suburb, so what i call downtown is maybe three streets around main st. I would sleep on the sidewalk. The closest small city has a downtown that is a little scary but i'd walk around most of it, certainly in the day. It's only 1 hour to NYC too, so it's not really in the middle of nowhere.

Answer 4

Yes, I would feel comfortable on my city's downtown area after dark, but I would be much more observant with a date along. Much apparent good has been done, but in fact all they have done is moved the homeless and drug dealers to other parts of the city. Until we as citizens one by one take our city back, this will continue. Everyone needs to do their part... not just the elected officials.

Answer 5

Downtown. i admire the folk everywhere.... the hustle and bustle, the dept shops, the espresso, the foot site visitors.... i admire the full mess of all of it. i'm so bored by ability of the suburbs - all of them look an identical to me. sturdy ole' Generica, complete with white wood fences and carbon replica properties. the city has a tendency to be somewhat greater eclectic... somewhat greater keen to enhance, exchange, and remodel itself. i admire the atypical angles of the properties, the bricks, the reality that each and each highway looks diverse. i'd incredibly see a colourful city than a colourful suburb... and the place I stay, issues are beginning as much as head in that direction. that is interesting! at present, I stay in (gasp) suburban St. Louis, Missouri. I plan to visit the city, nevertheless. sturdy question!

Answer 6

Same as every other one in America today, a war zone ran by thugs and financed by corporate America.

Answer 7

noissssssssssssy! bad, yes, yes and no i wouldn't live nor shop there !