The signs seem to be popping up in city centers everywhere. "For Sale," "For Lease,” “Vacant.” They lie posted on the walls of buildings in downtowns across the country, where large office structures once filled with thousands of employees would arrive each morning for work, five days a week. These now-empty spaces sit quiet. Many office buildings that held on to tenants are under-occupied, as hundreds of companies have introduced hybrid workplace structures, while others have allowed workers to remain remote at home indefinitely.
The lack of office workers has not just led to solitary buildings, but also to an absence of traffic for the small businesses surrounding them. The restaurants and bars where employees once frequented for lunch and happy hours have reduced hours, if they can stay open at all. Nearby coffee shops, dry cleaners, and convenience stores have experienced similar effects.
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated our nation, but we're in danger of another pandemic if we don't act fast to fill these vacant buildings: the rising rate of violent crime. The United States experienced a 25 percent increase in homicides in 2020 from 2019, based on preliminary data released by the FBI — the largest single-year increase in the homicide rate since reliable tracking began in 1960. And by no coincidence, many of the cities that are experiencing increased crime – such as New York, Chicago, and Washington DC – are also seeing higher rates of vacancy in urban areas and business districts.
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