What it really takes to save a downtown with Mayor White of Greenville, SC

Building Better Cities · Jan 21, 2026 · 35m

Downtowns across the country are struggling after COVID — with empty storefronts, declining foot traffic, and major uncertainty about the future of office districts and city centers.

In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with Mayor Knox White of Greenville, South Carolina to unpack what it really takes to save a downtown — and why Greenville’s approach has become a national model for mid-sized cities.

Greenville, SC is now known for its walkable Main Street, mixed-use downtown living, and the transformation of the Reedy River into Falls Park. But that success…