Downtown DC is a storefront ghost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's so funny how DC voters consistently vote 90% for the party that destroys the place. Reap what you sow and the people in the suburbs laugh at how much of a dump you people live in.

Which suburbs? Last I checked they were mostly democratic as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:According to the Washington Post (just this week) cell phone usage and therefore foot traffic, after work hours and on weekends, in downtown DC is up over the previous peak 2019 levels. Visitors and residents alike are drawn to the numerous new restaurants like La Boucherie at 14th and G, the shopping at places like City Center, and museums like the Portrait Gallery.

But… Cell phone usage is below 60% of 2019 levels during the workday however, which puts DC in the bottom half of the return to work cities. We can blame the GSA and federal agencies for not encouraging workers to return to work or unloading the empty buildings for redevelopment into housing.

What is the benefit of "encouraging" me to commute into the building so I can do the exact same work on my computer that I do at home? The only difference is that I would have more opportunity to chat with the people in my office about our personal lives. Plus I have always packed my lunch, so it wouldn't even help the lunch places.

I would really enjoy seeing these people come out with an idea that was not centrally about coercion.

Saying the quiet part out loud...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's so funny how DC voters consistently vote 90% for the party that destroys the place. Reap what you sow and the people in the suburbs laugh at how much of a dump you people live in.

Ideally, I like to see Democrats in charge nationally and in Democratic-leaning states to have more moderate Republican governors (like Charlie Baker of Mitt Romney when they were Mass. governors or Larry Hogan as Maryland governor) to keep a check on the spending and more leftward plans of the legislature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

And then a lot of the young parents with babies decide to leave their "urban cool" neighborhoods in search of better schools, green space and backyards. For many, this still involves a move to the 'burbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

And then a lot of the young parents with babies decide to leave their "urban cool" neighborhoods in search of better schools, green space and backyards. For many, this still involves a move to the 'burbs.

DC decided a long time ago that it was not going to be a family friendly city. The mayor cutting DCPS first to balance the budget proves it. The city doesn’t want to provide services to your kids. Especially if you’re not poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

And then a lot of the young parents with babies decide to leave their "urban cool" neighborhoods in search of better schools, green space and backyards. For many, this still involves a move to the 'burbs.

DC decided a long time ago that it was not going to be a family friendly city. The mayor cutting DCPS first to balance the budget proves it. The city doesn’t want to provide services to your kids. Especially if you’re not poor.

Let's not pretend the upper middle class are the victims here: The families who will be most hurt by the DCPS budget cuts are not the ones that aren't poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

And then a lot of the young parents with babies decide to leave their "urban cool" neighborhoods in search of better schools, green space and backyards. For many, this still involves a move to the 'burbs.

DC decided a long time ago that it was not going to be a family friendly city. The mayor cutting DCPS first to balance the budget proves it. The city doesn’t want to provide services to your kids. Especially if you’re not poor.

Why is the DC government still debating millions for a Connecticut Ave bike lane when public schools are facing steep budget cuts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

In general this is true, but DC has actually had a more vibrant downtown for many years than cities like LA, Houston. It's less vibrant than NYC and Chicago, but it does pretty well.

What it needs it to be redeveloped with housing and feeding tourists at the center. As it is, there is tremendous capacity to grow the number of tourists who stay downtown.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

In general this is true, but DC has actually had a more vibrant downtown for many years than cities like LA, Houston. It's less vibrant than NYC and Chicago, but it does pretty well.

What it needs it to be redeveloped with housing and feeding tourists at the center. As it is, there is tremendous capacity to grow the number of tourists who stay downtown.

Exactly. There’s room for improvement and a need for more housing to support retail. But DC, along with other mid size cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, etc., actually have vibrant downtowns with department stores, shopping, cafes and restaurants, museums, cultural landmarks, and parks. Sure, they all emptied out during the pandemic but are once again on the upswing. I don’t know why the Post, WSJ, etc., keep touting downtown Cleveland as a model to emulate, when that downtown doesn’t have much of anything in comparison. I have no desire to spend a cafefree day in the downtowns of St. Louis, Cleveland, Houston, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Buffalo, Rochester, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

the point is the idea that there is some wholesale move out of DC in a great “demographic shift” (such that downtown DC needs to be all street parking and 50mph driving to cater to suburban Millenials driving in) is absolutely false.

As usual, the stupid, bad liars are the people who, due to personality disorders, get fixated on any change that they perceive benefits anyone else, especially if those people make different life choices.

Get over it. Walkable, bikeable, metro-ablei DC isn’t changing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

The international in-migration is likely not migrants. It's more likely embassies, international agencies, etc that delayed in person re-staffing during the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

The international in-migration is likely not migrants. It's more likely embassies, international agencies, etc that delayed in person re-staffing during the pandemic.

Greg Abbott says that Texas alone bussed 11,900 migrants to DC from April 2022 - September 2023.
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-deploys-more-buses-to-border-amid-migrant-surge

It’s possible to account for 100% of the international migration from these Texas buses alone. However, many either are accommodated in the suburbs, particularly Maryland has been very accommodating of migrants arriving in DC that DC doesn’t want to accommodate, and some move on to other places. But many are staying.

Outside of the migrant buses, a lot of border crossers just arrive in DC on their own. The Washington Post did an article recently on presumably undocumented Venezuelan scooter delivery drivers.

After that you will get some who come to attend the colleges and universities.

Embassy staff are not going to move the needle much and a significant number of them live in the suburbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

the point is the idea that there is some wholesale move out of DC in a great “demographic shift” (such that downtown DC needs to be all street parking and 50mph driving to cater to suburban Millenials driving in) is absolutely false.

As usual, the stupid, bad liars are the people who, due to personality disorders, get fixated on any change that they perceive benefits anyone else, especially if those people make different life choices.

Get over it. Walkable, bikeable, metro-ablei DC isn’t changing.

You may want to Google “domestic out-migration”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Things are shifting, much of it as a result of cultural change driven by the pandemic, and there will be ramifications that aren't good. Urban spaces are going to see decline, the question is how much and how bad is it going to get; I think it might get really bad.

Urban spaces see a decline because the US has an idiotic policy of having people live in the burbs, work in offices downtown and spend their lives in lines in car commuting. I am from Europe and spent time recently in Milan, Copenaghen and Rome. The pandemic brought problems everywhere but those cities are still full of people and open stores. I work at connecticut snd k and all the stores in the block closed down a while ago. There is nothing there other than offices and with people working from home stores cant afford to pay the hire rent with the reduced foot traffic. Downtowns are becoming deserts in US towns because downtowns were reduced to be office buildings and nothing else

You have a very limited view of the world.

Urban renewal was a generational event leading need to demographic trends from from the late 90s until the mid-2010s. Those demographic trends are now shifting.

You seem to think that there’s been some conspiracy when it’s always been and always will be consumer preferences. Just because people don’t like to consume what you like to consume doesn’t mean that there is some nefarious plot. That notion seems to be a hallmark of certain left wing thinking going back to Chomsky or perhaps it’s embedded in the whole Marxian false consciousness thing. The problem is that it is just not true.

what “demographic trends” exactly? something tells me you are the kind of person who believes everything is just a “demographic trend” that policymakers cannot do anything about … except when it comes to ensuring everyone has free parking and can drive 50mph, in which case, policies need to rule with an iron fist to protect that.

Have you met a generation of people called Millennials? Many are in their 40s now and past their move to the city after graduation phase. Over half of Millennials own homes, which is greater than GenX when they were the same age. And generally speaking, they are fleeing cities to buy their homes in the exurbs.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/1/24/millennials-are-fleeing-cities-in-favor-of-the-exurbs

And this migration of Millennials from cities to exurbs is mostly driven by consumer preferences for a single family house with a yard. In fact, survey after survey shows (as well as decades of behavior) that Millennials (and consumers generally) prefer to have those things even it it means that they have to live further away from work.
https://www.redfin.com/news/millennial-homebuyers-prefer-single-family-homes/

The entire progressive urbanist thing is literally to force people to live next to them so they don’t feel lonely.

lol dude. DC’s population is growing, not shrinking - driven by new babies. https://mayor.dc.gov/release/2023-census-data-highlights-continued-population-growth-washington-dc#:~:text=As%20of%20the%20July%201,than%20deaths%20in%20the%20year.

got any other great insight?

I’m not sure if you’re stupid or a bad liar. But considering you arrived at that info via google search and didn’t bother to read the link, it’s probably a little bit of both.

First, let’s go back in time. When DCs population was tanking, the official position of DC government as that it was unfair to compare DC to other states. I see when the population goes up that’s not the case anymore. But I digress. Let’s look at the numbers.

8,023 - net population growth
2,607 - more births than deaths
6,969 - international in-migration
1,509 - domestic out-migration

“Driven by new babies” is definitely not what’s happening here friend. It’s also entirely possible that a significant portion of these new babies are being born to the international migrants.

Would you like to amend your statement? LOL.

The international in-migration is likely not migrants. It's more likely embassies, international agencies, etc that delayed in person re-staffing during the pandemic.

Greg Abbott says that Texas alone bussed 11,900 migrants to DC from April 2022 - September 2023.
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-deploys-more-buses-to-border-amid-migrant-surge

It’s possible to account for 100% of the international migration from these Texas buses alone. However, many either are accommodated in the suburbs, particularly Maryland has been very accommodating of migrants arriving in DC that DC doesn’t want to accommodate, and some move on to other places. But many are staying.

Outside of the migrant buses, a lot of border crossers just arrive in DC on their own. The Washington Post did an article recently on presumably undocumented Venezuelan scooter delivery drivers.

After that you will get some who come to attend the colleges and universities.

Embassy staff are not going to move the needle much and a significant number of them live in the suburbs.

All good points but that university number is a lot higher than you claim - between AU, GW, GTown, Howard, Catholic and Galludet. It's not just an add on. Most of the population loss was due to college students during the pandemic. It makes sense that a lot of the gain is due to the reverse.