Downtowns across the state and nation have been in an almost constant state of reinvention for decades.
While not always the recognized center of commerce and community life that they once were in most communities, many locally remain important economic engines and gathering places.
As this week’s cover story reports, that resilience has again been on display throughout the pandemic.
Main Street businesses have naturally suffered along with many others during the past 19 months. While some have closed, new ones have also opened. Most have managed to adapt and survive, bruised but able to at least envision a post-COVID 19 recovery.
That doesn’t mean all of the downtowns are on the same path to recovery. In some communities, such as Pawtucket and Providence, vacant commercial spaces that existed before the pandemic remain.
And it’s unclear what percentage of office workers will return to patronize city businesses that depend on them. That same dynamic, however, helped limit the economic pain in some suburban communities, such as Warren, that have seen an influx of shoppers and diners working remotely and staying closer to home.
One long-term answer for urban centers may be more residential development of office spaces, to keep some of the new remote workforce in the cities.
There are no simple or inexpensive solutions to such challenges, of course. But the good news for the statewide economy is that the downtowns are still standing, poised to help fuel yet another hoped-for economic rebound.