How do we make downtowns fun again?

by | Sep 2, 2026 | Cities, Solutions

Cities today are looking to arts and entertainment, drinking and dining, and special events as a way to draw crowds back into urban centers.  As with so many issues facing cities, the challenges and prescriptions are nothing new.
 
When Ed Rendell became mayor of Philadelphia in 1992, the city was going broke, crime was rampant and businesses were fleeing. Philly’s future looked bleak, so what to do?  Inject fun into the city.
 
Rendell relentlessly promoted Philadelphia, showing up everywhere all at once.  He legalized sidewalk seating for restaurants so that Center City Philadelphia had more than 400 outdoor dining sites even pre-Covid.  And he introduced the idea of turning Wednesdays after work into a giant outdoor happy hour all over downtown that continues as Center City District Sips today.
 
Hear from former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell, about putting the fun back into Philly:
As part of Wednesday Night Out, Rendell convinced Center City restaurants to offer discounts, coordinated with local museums to stay open late, and increased visible police patrols to make visitors feel safe. 
 
Like Rendell, Mayor Daniel Lurie in today’s San Francisco is seen all over town, even at openings of small cafes and coffee shops.  And the city’s recovering downtown is now home to a series of fortunate events from Downtown First Thursdays (a three-block street festival that draws up to 20,000 people each month) to regular concerts in a variety of downtown parks to special events such as December’s Let’s Glow projected light shows.
 
Outdoor dining at Philadelphia’s Parc bistro opposite Rittenhouse Square is below:
Pedestrians, a scooter rider, and a dog walker on the Atlanta Beltline urban trail, with Ponce City Market and converted brick warehouses lining the path.
Saving the City creator Ron Blatman was just featured in an extended interview in The Planning Report, a journal about cities out of Los Angeles.
 
 
One of many CCD Sips venues in Center City Philadelphia on a summer Wednesday after work is below:
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Roller skating in summer and ice skating in winter at Dilworth Park abutting Philadelphia’s City Hall are below:

Map of the Atlanta Beltline urban trail, a 22-mile loop circling the central city and connecting 45 neighborhoods, parks, and landmarks, with the trail and rail routes, MARTA lines, and interstates marked.
Map of the Atlanta Beltline urban trail, a 22-mile loop circling the central city and connecting 45 neighborhoods, parks, and landmarks, with the trail and rail routes, MARTA lines, and interstates marked.

Movies on The Mall in Center City Philadelphia with Independence Hall in the background:

Map of the Atlanta Beltline urban trail, a 22-mile loop circling the central city and connecting 45 neighborhoods, parks, and landmarks, with the trail and rail routes, MARTA lines, and interstates marked.

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This post is adapted from our biweekly newsletter. Read the original newsletter.

Read our previous post: How Vancouver’s Urban Planning Draws Downtown Families.