Restaurants Draw Individuals to Urban Areas

What draws you to visit or live in urban areas? A recent study completed by Sasaki Associates found that “food is a major driver of the American urban experience.” Sasaki Associates, a planning and design firm hired a research firm to survey 1,000 people from six different cities across the U.S.: Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Having places to eat and drink is what draws individuals to live and visit urban areas. There are many reasons why restaurants and other food infrastructures are so important to us. Restaurants are multifaceted; they can be used for meeting others, market/trading spaces or even just for plain eating.  This is why restaurants become staples in communities. The survey also found that individuals living in urban areas want local food and community-focused events around food. Components such as farmer’s markets and food trucks that bring in local-grown and sourced food to the urban area are extremely important to urbanites.

Restaurants are necessary elements of “mixed-use development and urban retail,” drawing individuals to live, work, and play all in the same area. Here in the White Flint sector, creating mixed-use developments are key to bring growth and change to the area. Restaurants and other food options will be necessary features in these developments in order to draw in residents and visitors to the White Flint sector.

What other components are important to your urban experience? Let us know!