Staying Put

Speaking of families opting to stay downtown, Ryan Briggs has a piece for Next American City on how Philadelphia and Baltimore downtowns are continuing to grow on the strength of families opting to stay put:

While urban revitalization is often stereotyped as dominated by young professionals and retirees, Census data found that the Greater Center City area had an even balance of all age groups. Data from the year 2000 indicated an average household size of 1.7 people in the eight ZIP codes. That figure had ticked up to 1.75 by 2010 — a trend CCD attributed to couples opting to raise children in the city.

It’s possible for cities to create vibrant, thriving downtown communities that include families and children.