Europe and North America boast many world-famous cities that attract hordes of tourists every year. Despite this, residents themselves do not rate the city centers of their hometowns very highly. According to a recently published study by Gensler Research Institute, European and North American downtowns were ranked lower overall by inhabitants than those in the Middle East, developing Asia and Africa also included in the survey. Downtowns in Latin America, which are notoriously unsafe, were also rated poorly.
Different aspects can make downtowns undesirable and several issues have been plaguing cities on both sides of the Atlantic recently. North American metros have since the coronavirus pandemic seen a mass exodus of businesses, shoppers and workers as services moved online and never returned. Sometimes exacerbated by empty downtowns, both European and North American cities have grappled with a rise in homelessness, crime and littering. In Europe, city centers geared towards mass tourism have left locals (and also some visitors) wondering what’s on offer for them downtown.
While North American city centers were according to survey respondents neither beautiful nor iconic (with a few select exceptions), Europeans said downtowns where they lived were also not authentic, memorable and welcoming enough. As the FIFA World Cup is taking place in Canada, the United States and Mexico at the moment, these problems could potentially lead to disappointment with international visitors. However, some soccer fans seems rather content with experiencing average American life, visiting fast food joints, spotting yellow school busses and going crazy for ranch sauce, according to reports.
The survey encompasses 36 North American cities — more than on any other continent — and therefor includes ratings for the city centers of less exciting locales like Newark, San Jose or Indianapolis. But even big urban centers and World Cup host cities including Los Angeles, Toronto and Vancouver had at most two thirds of respondents rate their downtowns as good or excellent across different aspects. St. Louis and Portland received an overall positive rating of below 60% each, with residents missing vibrancy, beauty, walkability and feeling welcome. This is despite the fact that the average North American downtown was rated as enjoyable to walk around in by 75% of respondents — surprisingly the best-rated aspect out of seven. This might be due to the fact that downtowns provide some of the few opportunities for activities on foot for many North Americans.
Is Downtown Dead?
Meanwhile, residents in Europe gave the worst downtown scores to Athens, at just over 50% positive ratings, as well as Paris and Berlin, with scores just below 60%. While some residents might prefer different parts of the city to downtown areas viewed as commercial and soulless, issues around sanitation have also impacted all three cities. On the other hand, Europeans had good things to say not only about downtown walkability, but also about the vibrancy of their city centers. Three quarters of residents rated the downtowns of London and Madrid positively.
Other places receiving only around 60% positive scores were Rio De Janeiro, Istanbul, Denver and Barcelona. On the other end of the spectrum are cities on the Arabian Gulf, with the modern and deliberately planned Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh downtowns rated around 90% positively. Beijing, Bangalore and Shanghai achieved scores of around 85% each, with Asian respondents stressing that their cities are welcoming to everyone. Despite obvious problems, Cairo and Lagos received similar ratings as residents think their downtowns are welcoming, memorable and vibrant. The highest-ranked U.S. city was Chicago at 83% of inhabitants rating its downtown good or excellent overall.