11 Signs a City Will Succeed...#5...

James Fallows recently wrote a fascinating article in The Atlantic based on research conducted by he and his wife.  The article lays out 11 key factors that seem to point to the success of a city.

Read the entire article here.

This set of posts offers musings on each of the 11 signs.

#5..."They have a downtown"...

There is something beautifully simple and yet deeply profound about this characteristic.

A downtown has a way of "moving" something inside of a person...possibly even within the soul.

A downtown is the antithesis of "nature" and yet there is something incredibly "natural" about a downtown.

It is incredibly difficult to describe, and impossible to write a proof statement for, but that a successful city has a downtown makes perfect sense to me.