ya, ya, it's the UK. But even on the civilized side of the pond here, city's with successful downtown have seen commercial development flat to dropping since the turn of the century. Their growth has been residential.
https://www.ft.com/content/9d585476-7d5e-4eb8-9f70-9755806e261a
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https://www.ft.com/content/9d585476-7d5e-4eb8-9f70-9755806e261a
As part of sweeping reforms to the planning system, the government has laid out plans to relax rules around the conversion of commercial buildings to residential use.
The extension of so-called permitted development rights "will create opportunities in the types of brownfield sites we normally aim for, allowing us to develop in city and town centres", said Mr Tonkiss on Wednesday.
Closer to home, St. Peterburg is a pretty good example to follow.
Yep, lot of old farts in downtown St. Petersburg and throughout the city as a whole.