Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

These days, almost every mid-sized city has an entertainment district. Depending on your nature, these are the places you either flock to on Friday and Saturday nights or assiduously avoid. These are also often the best places to get a gyro at 2 a.m.

false

But as ubiquitous as entertainment districts have become, Nathaniel M. Hood at Strong Towns writes that they are generally terrible places to be the other five days of the week. He saw it first hand on a recent visit to Omaha, Nebraska:

Believe it or not, Omaha has some good urbanism. There is a solid urban form, nice architecture and it’s all intertwined into a historic fabric. Minus the excessively large one-way streets, most urbanists would be very pleased to replicate this in their hometowns.

There is a problem with Omaha’s best urban neighborhood: it’s loud, drunk and single-use. Correction. That’s only on Friday and Saturday night. The problem with Omaha’s best urban neighborhood: it’s silent, empty and single-use.

While originally having many diverse purposes, the Old Market neighborhood now is mainly articulated around one function: entertainment (and the odd antique shop). This would be tolerable if Omaha had other similar neighborhoods. They don’t – and neither do most American cities. That is precisely why we can’t be surrendering our best places over exclusively to entertainment.

It lacks one crucial element: people. Since entertainment is more or less modern code-speak for food and drink., it means that if it isn’t a weekend, these places are silent. For a place to be successful, it needs people. All types of people – not just 25 year olds on a Friday or Saturday night out.

To be successful, any urban area must have multiple uses, Hood writes.

Elsewhere on the Network today: World Streets comments on the inequity of car-based transportation systems. Bike Delaware reports that the League of American Bicyclists is calling for reform of an influential engineering guidebook, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. And NRDC's Switchboard blog says Americans may not like paying taxes, but climate change's extreme weather problems are already exerting a 2.7 percent drain on personal budgets when averaged across the United States.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Wonder Why

Why are drivers killing so many pedestrians? Governing magazine has a number of familiar theories.

April 17, 2025

Is Private Capital Up to a Texas-Sized High Speed Rail Challenge Now That the Feds Have Pulled Out?

"We hope that Duffy’s announcement isn’t an ideologically driven decision to turn [Texas' critical high-speed rail project] over to the 'free market' and a prayer."

April 16, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Flash Their High Beams

Yes, headlights are getting brighter, and while it might help drivers see, for everyone else the glare can be blinding and dangerous.

April 16, 2025

Map Quest: Meet NYC’s Most Dangerous Drivers

A map of the city's most reckless drivers shows how prolific the problem of super-scofflaws is in the five boroughs.

April 16, 2025

Study: Covid May Make Sick Drivers Worse Behind the Wheel

As evidence mounts that Covid affects our brains, one study suggests it could also affect our ability to drive safely.

April 16, 2025
See all posts