| THE BIG STORY
Generic Town, USA |
| Now that remote work is here to stay, troves of people have moved away from big metropolises to small and midsize cities.
This may seem like a boon for these up-and-coming metros, but they also have a problem, writes David A. Banks for Insider.
In their attempt to lure in these middle- and high-income workers, these cities have all used the same playbook and now, well, they’re starting to look the same. Consider these “unique” features: |
- Old architecture: Instead of tearing buildings down, these cities are “converting” old spaces — which signals authenticity.
- Doing it for the Gram: Many of these “old” places are redesigned to be perfectly Instagrammable. Sprinkle in an influencer or two and, boom, instant hype for the city.
- Local everything: Locally-sourced eateries with eerily similar menus. Craft breweries with the same selection of IPAs. Food halls that check the box of every cuisine. It’s all photocopied “authentic.”
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| Add it all up and cities blur together like tired replicas of each other, Banks writes.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying your weekend farmers-market jaunt. Making a city that’s exciting, fun, and inviting is generally good. But the default way cities do it now is creating uninspired cityscapes.
So to stand out from the crowd, these cities need to invest in themselves — in local businesses and in amenities that aren’t carbon copies of the next town over, Banks writes. If they don’t, the hype of America’s new Generic Towns is certain to fade. |
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