Eugene, OR has been named one of the Top 10 Best Downtowns by Livability.com, a national website that ranks quality of life and travel amenities of America’s small and mid-sized cities.
For this list of downtowns, Livability editors looked at data including improvement in retail and office vacancy rates, the number of people moving into the area, income growth, unemployment, the ratio of people who live and work in the downtowns, and the overall livability of the city. Considerable weight was given to population growth and the ratio of residents to jobs in a downtown area. But numbers alone can’t tell you what makes a downtown great, so editors also considered input from a well-traveled staff.
“Having a great downtown is about more than just having a great main street,” says Matt Carmichael, Livability.com editor. “A downtown should have a cultural and retail focal point, like a main street, but it has to expand beyond that, providing a solid core for the entire community.”
Eugene was chosen for its downtown transformation fueled by residential growth. An estimated 1,500 new residents have moved downtown during the last two years and discovered the wide array of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that changed downtown Eugene into an urban playground. More than 20 new businesses have opened in the downtown area since 2012 while developers invested more than $200 million in construction projects.
Learn more about Downtown Eugene.