Charleston is sounding the alarm.

Peyton Steele’s article, The Downtown Death Spiral, hit me right in the gut.

And not because it was shocking — but because it was familiar.

I’ve felt this heartbreak walking down the main streets of cities across the country.

Once-buzzing cafés with chalkboard menus, now dark behind dusty windows. Independent shops that made you smile — now “for lease” signs. Restaurants that anchored neighborhoods for years — gone almost overnight.

And the saddest part? These aren’t bad business decisions. They’re symptoms of a system that’s stopped working.

When a city becomes unlivable for the people who build its soul — the makers, bakers, bartenders, local bookstores, baristas, and local shopkeepers — it’s not just an economic crisis. It’s a crisis of identity.

We need to talk about what’s really going on.

The Cost of Losing Walkability

When downtown Charleston (Savannah, or any other city) becomes a place where no one can live, no one can work — and no one wants to walk — the whole urban ecosystem starts to unravel.

Parking is a nightmare. Housing near jobs is out of reach. A restaurant has to make $4,000 a day just to survive. Small business owners are held hostage by insurance policies and rent hikes that make national chains look like the only viable tenant.

So what happens? The locals leave. Then the workers leave. Then the magic leaves.

Cities Are Becoming Products

We’re watching beloved cities turn into copies of each other. Same brands. Same buildings. Same stories.

And what’s heartbreaking is that we know it doesn’t have to be this way.

Because when a city is thoughtfully planned — when it’s human-scaled, when walkability is prioritized, when there are spaces where people bump into each other, connect, and linger — something incredible happens.

You get places that feel alive.

You get loyalty. Pride. Vibrancy. Safety. Serendipity.

You get a city people don’t just visit, but love. You get an original.

We Were Born Originals. Why Are We Letting Our Cities Die Copies?

I say this all the time, and it hits different now:

“You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.”

That goes for people and places.

Developers, planners, city leaders, business owners — this is your wake-up call.

Charleston is just the case study of the moment. But your town could be next.

We’ve commodified attention, connection, and capitalized community.

If we don’t start protecting what makes each city itself — the art, the food, the sidewalks, the third places, the gathering spots — we’ll be left with empty shells that only light up when the cruise ships dock.

What We Can Do (and What I’m Already Doing)

There’s another way.

As someone who works across the country advising master-planned communities, revitalizing town centers, and helping local businesses find space to grow — we’re not just waving a flag.

We’re doing the work.

And if you’re a:

Developer who wants to fill your ground floor with soul (not just space fillers),
City leader wondering how to keep people living and working downtown,
Business owner trying to find the right corner to thrive,
Or even a resident craving something real again...

I want you to know — you're not alone. And you're not crazy for wanting more from the places we call home.

Let’s stop chasing copies. Let’s build places that feel like us.

What Real Stewardship Looks Like

We don’t need more task forces or press releases.

We need collaboration across departments:

Planning talking to transit.
Zoning talking to human-scale design.
Tourism talking to infrastructure.
And all of them talking to the community before the renderings go live.

Real stewardship means creating cities that feel loved — not leveraged.

Because if we lose our cities’ souls to profit-first thinking, sterile design, or policies that reward absentee ownership over human presence…

There won’t be anything left to save.

Let’s Start Here

If you’re a developer, city leader, or business owner and want to create something that matters, that lasts, and that feels alive — we are ready.

→ Let’s talk about your downtown.
→ Let’s bring walkability back.
→ Let’s find space for your story.

This is what we do at terra alma.

Fill out this form for an initial consultation!🚶‍♀️🏡✨

You Were Born an Original. Don’t Let Your City Die a Copy