Those skywalks where a horrible idea. They forced most store front business to close after they built them...

totally agree. i ultimately think they're bad for the city. just saying they're insane and pretty damned convenient on cold days.

I think the suburbanization of metros killed store-front business, although I'd love to see data that shows causation (and not correlation) for skywalks hurting street-level retail.

Last time ... ever? (at @Amici_Espresso w/ @jackovin @meganebannister @broox) t.co/INoBALc6FT

Lol dude what data do you need to see ? There used to be a ton of spots downtown that all closed within a few years of them getting built... Ask anyone old enough to remember. Downtown used to have a ton of stores, specialty shops , and eateries that where around for a long time but went belly up after that. Obviously they relied on foot traffic of downtown business employees and the skywalk robbed them of that traffic

That's a correlation, not causation. I think the larger meta-trend that played out nationwide was the suburbanization of metros. I think the more clear scenario is that once the US started becoming more car-dependent and suburban malls started being built, commerce shifted out there.

Any buddy ever took a business class....my God! Wow!

I thought the closure of downtown stores was due to the fact the number of people actually living in the urban center hit rock bottom, suburban commuters who left downtown right after work became the norm, a main shopping thoroughfare was turned into a bus-only street and was linked with 80s/90s bad reputation for public transportation.

DSM ripped off the Minneapolis skyway model (which seems to be thriving), but Walnut was never Nicollet Mall.

I'd also like to blame Seni Om Sed being lame as shit in the 80s and the glut of Smithson-owned downtown spots that kept the lights on, but ever so dimly