Urban Decay in Downtown Des Moines
While I think we have a beautiful city and love living here, I can’t help but notice some of our urban decay just two or blocks from some of our biggest downtown draws, such as the new Pappajohn Sculpture Garden or our entertainment Court Avenue District.
Wikipedia defines urban decay as: “a process by which a city, or a part of a city, falls into a state of disrepair. It is characterized by depopulation, economic restructuring, property abandonment, high unemployment, fragmented families, political disenfranchisement, crime, and desolate and unfriendly urban landscapes.” I think downtown Des Moines’ urban decay is focus around property abandonment and unfriendly urban landscapes.
One of the main thoroughfares into downtown from the airport is crossing the George Carver Washington bridge on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. Take a look at two of the first buildings that you see when coming into downtown this way, the Crane Co. building and the once proposed Opus condo building. I’m not sure who owns it or what can be done about it, but check out the two photos below.
Posted under Living Downtown
Tags: Urban Decay
