On the Retail Changes of Main Street Reshaping Cities

"Retailers are middlemen, for the most part. They don't usually make stuff themselves. Mostly they just buy it from elsewhere and then make it available to the passerby. Increasingly, of course, that shopper is virtual, surfing along an online street. Rather than heading downtown or to a suburban mall, customers fire up their computers or phone apps, make a purchase and then wait for the cardboard box to be delivered.

"It's hardly news that this trend endangers some brick-and-mortar stores, whether they sell pants, cat food, eyeglasses, mattresses, shoes, printers, televisions, novels, hammers or toothbrushes. It's a fact city leaders must wrestle with as they watch their malls go dark and their Main Streets mutate into new roles -- or try to."

In a recent commentary, Alex Marshall, Senior Fellow at The Regional Plan Association in New York City, reflected on some of the changes occurring in downtown commercial districts, including how brick-and-mortar stores are surviving, but what they're selling is changing.

To access Mr. Marshall's complete post, please visit:

Governing Magazine: How the Mutation of Main Street Is Reshaping Cities (June 2018)