October 31st, 2024 by WCBC Radio

Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day spent the day in Western Maryland recently and had the opportunity to look over the redeveloped downtown area.  He said that projects considered “urban renewal” in 1970s did more harm than good to downtowns, including Cumberland and his hometown of Salisbury…

“You know, a 1970s era pedestrian mall seemed like the right solution to create this novel space – and they never worked. Or very few of them in America worked. Other than Miami Beach, Burlington Vermont, Charlottesville Virginia, and Boulder Colorado, those were the exceptions to the rule. Nowhere else worked. They all failed. They all killed their downtowns.”