Downtowns across the country are struggling after COVID — with empty storefronts, declining foot traffic, and major uncertainty about the future of office districts and city centers.

In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Mayor Knox White of Greenville, South Carolina to unpack what it really takes to save a downtown — and why Greenville’s approach has become a national model for mid-sized cities.

Greenville, SC is now known for its walkable Main Street, mixed-use downtown living, and the transformation of the Reedy River into Falls Park. But that success was far from inevitable. Mayor White reflects on downtown decline in the 1970s, the decision to invest ahead of the market, and the political courage behind bold moves like narrowing Main Street and removing the Camperdown Bridge.

The conversation explores:

• Downtown revitalization strategies after COVID
• Public-private partnerships in city redevelopment
• How tax increment financing (TIF) can support downtown recovery
• Why mixed-use development is essential for vibrant city centers
• How cities can reinvest downtown success beyond the core
• Housing affordability and rising rents in revitalized downtowns

As many cities search for ways to bring life back to downtown corridors, Greenville’s experience offers timely lessons on leadership, planning, and long-term investment.

This episode is for city leaders, planners, developers, and anyone thinking seriously about the future of downtown America.

Resources:

From groundbreaking to opening of Honor Tower, see Unity Park through the years (Greenville News)

Falls Park on the Reedy (Rudy Bruner Award)

Downtown Reborn (City of Greenville)

Small and midsized downtown recovery: Overcoming obstacles and uplifting innovative solutions in four regions (Brookings)

To save downtowns, cities need to do more than turn offices into housing (Urban Institute)

Can we save the downtown? Examining pandemic recovery trajectories across 72 North American cities (Cities)

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One year ago, the Los Angeles wildfires made one thing unmistakably clear: climate risk is no longer peripheral to urban life — it is a defining condition for many cities. The loss of thousands of homes has forced urgent questions about how to rebuild in climate-risk areas.

Homeowners are facing rising insurance costs — further exacerbating the affordability crisis. Earlier this year, we explored how pricing climate risk into insurance could create a pathway for insurers to re-enter these markets. Beyond that approach, there are more efforts to make insurance more affordable. But without fundamentally changing how we design for resilience, these tools risk normalizing unsafe conditions rather than correcting them.

That’s why we’re replaying this timely conversation with Alisa Valderrama, founder of FutureProof. As a climate-based insurtech start-up, FutureProof prices climate risk using insurance data and weather models. With a recent aquisition, FutureProof is expanding it's capabilities to address wildfire risk in pricing products for leading national insurers. In this episode, Alisa shares how quantifying climate risk for insurers is changing the way we build (and rebuild) with resilience.

Resources:

FutureProof Technologies Acquires Terrafuse AI to Address Wildfire Risk (Business Wire)

Who Pays When Insurance Fails to Cover Climate Disasters? (NRDC)

Forging a resilient future for California's homeowners and insurers (McKinsey)

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You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here.
Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.

How do you make mission-driven development pencil in a neighborhood shaped by decades of disinvestment?

In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with J. Byron Brazier, lead developer of Woodlawn Central, a nearly $895 million mixed-use development on Chicago’s South Side anchored by the Apostolic Church of God. Together, they explore how community-led, faith-based development can drive large-scale urban regeneration without displacement.

The conversation dives into how Woodlawn Central is moving forward without relying on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and how financing tools like joint ventures, phased development, and future tax-increment strategies help the project pencil.

This episode is a must-listen for developers, city leaders, investors, planners, and community builders interested in equitable development, transit-oriented districts, and new models for community-driven urban revitalization.

Resources:

Woodlawn Central: "A model for the new Black community" (Urbanize Chicago)

A Woodlawn megadevelopment stirs hope and fear in the Chicago neighborhood (WBEZ Chicago)

Price tag for Church's sweeping plant to redevelopment Woodlawn property could hit $1B (Block Club Chicago)

Bid to aid 'vulnerable residents' by Obama Presidential Center wins city panel's unanimous backing (WBEZ Chicago)

Why homes for low-income renters are far more expensive to build (BisNow)

Thanks for listening to Building Better Cities!
If you'd like to stay connected, don't forget to Subscribe and Follow.
You can find all our archived newsletters and podcasts right here.
Want to get in touch? Just email the team at kate@buildingbettercities.com.