I would love to see downtowns become thriving and uplifting experiences for the people. Turn these obsolete office spaces into mixed-use spaces that promote community. Community needs to be first; people-first priorities. For the unused office buildings, the bottom floors can be businesses or public and third spaces while the rest of the levels can be converted to housing.
Use this opportunity where so many buildings are empty and valid for this kind of thing to plan out excellent spacing of vital needs like childcare, healthcare, services, schools, grocery, parks, and more.
Planning should consider utopian ideals. If it sounds too good to be true, reach for it as far as you can until it becomes true. Flying was an impossible idea at once.
What I think about is:
-Cultural spaces: museums, arts, theater, event spaces. Implement cultural influences in design choices. Celebrate the beauty that all cultures bring.
-Recreation: fields and spaces for sports and play. Baseball, hockey, rock climbing, soccer, table games, tennis, and so much more can be considered.
-Education: Schools and pre-schools can be established in these buildings. As long as there is a sevure recreational area (playground/track) to accomplish break and educational goals.
-Services: Social services, emergency, healthcare, you name it.
-Engagement: Create spaces for and encourage unity of neighborhoods to form community meetings for qcollaboration and progress.
-Green Spaces: I’d love to see 50%+ of space in human-occupied land boundaries be dedicated to nature spaces (park spaces included). If not that, green spaces should still be important. for people. Parks, playgrounds, fields, nature vistas, and undisturbed wildlife are amazing. A tree cut down is irreplaceable. Planting a sapling in its place is like giving birth to a baby to rationalize the cutting down (murder/death) of a 30-year-old human. That human is dead. Nothing can replace that.
-Housing: Of course! But forget the “deluxe luxury apartments” that price people out. Most should be affordable housing. And make reasonable sized flooeplans. Big isn’t necessarily better. 1,000 sq ft (93sq m) is more than enough for a modern family of 3 or 4. There’s enough space to live, but not so much space to strain utility bills. There are bigger/smaller families to consider and such, so floor plnans would still vary.
-Business: There is so much space for little businesses here and there! Promote local business to thrive.
-Community Engagement: Plan for community events by making the spaces that are ideal like parks, stages, and halls.
Idk. Just some musing in my boredom.
Unfortunately a lack of businesses will just as likely create a slum.
I included business in my thinking. People want stuff and services conveniently nearby.
Thanks to telework office buildings are ghost towns. This has the economic impact where fewer people leads to all the support businesses like shops and restaurants to close, further expanding the ghost town. This acceleration of vacancies leads to buildings being torn down and empty lots sitting there. Crime skyrockets, homelessness increases, and downtown looks like the 70s slum it used to be, where no one wants to be there. This massive decrease in jobs by the tens of thousands wrecks the local economy and leaves the state into a depression.
