Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Ideas Story

 The Johannes Gutenberg University at Mainz has picked up a study project.....for 150 students....to review the decline of Wiesbaden's shopping district (downtown) and find some way renew the district.

Is the downtown in decline?

I would suggest before Covid-19 came along (spring 2020)....the shopping district had obvious problems and a fair number of 'fronts' were shutting down, with replacement business operations in a 50-percent failure rate.

I would argue, having been around in the late 1970s, and in the mid-80s....it's not the same town.  Some parts of the town have improved.  But you can also make the case that crime, drugs, and a downward trend have started up over the past two decades.

Wiesbaden started up a weapons-free zone early last year (one of the first in Germany to go to this type of situation).....to cut down on knife situations and violent assaults.  

A party district to attract consumers?  That's one issue about Wiesbaden and the downtown district....the disco business (the Big Apple) and popular bars dissolved in the 1990s.  

What the 150 Mainz University students will advise?  I can already guess that attracting a party district will be in the top three ideas.  

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