Austin, Texas 6th Street Entertainment District

More from this column

• Publication pageSeptember 2026 issue

  Downtown Portland Recovery for COVID Lockdown

  Read

• Publication pageAugust 2026 issue

  Interview with Developer Manny DeMutis on the Future of Phoenixville

  Read

• ArticleJune 25, 2026

  Seattle 2026

  While in Seattle, I am documenting the decline of a downtown area. A combination of factors has led the city to focus more of its efforts on the market area near Elliot Bay. Things have not changed much since last year. The astounding number of street-level vacancies shows a shrinking city. There are long strings of v...

  Read

• Publication pageJune 2026 issue

  Seattle 2026

  Read

• ArticleMay 27, 2026

  Another Road Trip

  On May 15, I will begin my annual economic development survey of 70 cities. This is the fourth year, and I plan to make one more trip in 2027. I first took the trip in May 2021, when the Lockdown was winding down. I classified every storefront using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), a standard...

  Read

• Publication pageMay 2026 issue

  Another Road Trip

  Read