This is what was the Middlesbrough town centre. A car park with big retail outlets. Is this happening where you are?

Hopefully not. But the the corona lock downs broke the neck of quite a few shops where I live. So the town centers lost a bit of attractivness, I'm afraid. But the city is trying to make it more attractive again by making it more friendly for pedestrians. I hope this works.

Middlesbrough town centre is very pedestrian friendly but lost it a lot of big stores. So it's not a guarantee but 🤞:skin-tone-3: for your town.

As people have moved to online shipping for a lot of things, the big retail stores have suffered most. I was reading an article the other day saying that city centers are shifting to smaller, more boutique-style shops. That started years ago but the pandemic really accepted that shift, and some cities were slower to adapt than others (depending on their existing mix of stores).

Turns out Rich's announcement was a test in reading comprehension