Preface -- Acknowledgments -- What is Downtown?- Where is Downtown?- How and Why Downtown America is Changing -- People Who Are Changing Downtown -- Organizations that are Changing Downtown -- Lessons for Any Downtown -- Emerging 21st Century Downtowns -- Creating Vibrant Downtowns for a New Generation -- Afterword -- Notes -- Index."Alex Garvin looks at cities with a clearer eye than any other planner in America. He loves cities, but I think he loves empirical observation even more. This book is a paean to downtown, driven not by dogma but by a realistic, practical sensibility and an understanding of how cities really work, seasoned with passion and a lifetime of knowledge." Paul Goldberger, architecture critic and Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair "In her great 1960s song, Petula Clark sang 'Downtown, everything is waiting for you.' Five decades later, Alex Garvin, one of our great urbanists, eloquently and concretely illuminates how to execute on the same timeless formula for downtowns to thrive—mass transit to dense mixed use, a great public realm, retail, and culture." Dan Doctoroff, Founder and CEO, Sidewalk Labs "Alex Garvin is one of the country's most knowledgeable urban planners. His insights, based on more than half a century's experience, are essential for understanding the potential of civic space and urban development going forward." Deborah Berke, Dean, Yale School of Architecture.