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right to rebuild them. Numerous metro- <br />politan trends are redirecting growth <br />back into existing communities, which <br />has positive implications for the rebirth <br />of neighborhood retailing. Urban <br />Lifestyles are becoming more popular <br />among empty nesters, singles, the <br />elderly, and nontraditional households; <br />immigrants are fLocking to many neigh- <br />borhood streets as low-cost places to <br />open small businesses, stores, and <br />restaurants; retailers are again inter- <br />ested in urban locations because their <br />traditional suburban markets are satu- <br />rated; states are increasingly concerned <br />about the effects of sprawl and are <br />instituting smart growth policies; <br />pedestrian -oriented, streetfront retail <br />environments are gaining favor with <br />today's consumers; inner-city crime <br />has declined dramatically in the past <br />ten years; and local governments are <br />using increasingly sophisticated plan- <br />ning, regulatory, and financial in- <br />centives to encourage market -based <br />real estate investments in distressed <br />urban neighborhoods. <br />But these positive trends alone are not enough to ensure that rebuilding will <br />occur —even in affluent locations —since it takes far more time and effort to <br />rebuild neighborhood retailing than it took to destroy it. The challenge for the <br />public and private sectors is to work together aggressively to create the environ- <br />ment in which retailing can thrive. If this doesn't happen, retailing will continue <br />to shun neighborhood streetfront locations and choose more competitive sites. <br />Gaining the public sector's commitment is a difficult challenge because cities <br />and states are faced with increasingly limited resources and many new and com- <br />peting obligations. Nevertheless, ULI believes that ways must be found, as part <br />of a long-term strategy, to get started today on the task of rebuilding retail <br />services because the future prosperity of our metropolitan areas depends on it. <br />The revitalization of Old Pasadena, California, <br />incorporated new retail trends for shopping <br />and entertainment in a historic main street <br />environment. <br />vii <br />