the width of downtown Baton Rouge and see a total of four pedestrians. Together, they were entering a parking garage—yet another secured, forbidding facility of the kind that has replaced the mixed-use buildings found in a true city. The same lonely drive can be duplicated in Wilmington, Dallas, Newark—to name only those small—to—medium-sized cities recently surveyed by this observer.
A downtown of deserted, mausoleum-like buildings, surrounded by black slums: this is the definition of most former cities of the United States. To contemplate what might be done about these forlorn places, it is necessary to understand who benefits from their present condition. Two groups stand out for their reluctance to see any changes. The first is those remaining in the inner city. They have accepted deteriorating living conditions in exchange for the lures of welfare. The law-abiding among them are obliged to live cheek by jowl with mentally disturbed and criminal elements once confined to asylums and jails. But all alike benefit from the Welfare system and continue to live in its vicinity.
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