Downtown Fresno

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I'm sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Fresno for the first time. I've got a great view of the convention center, listening to jazz, sipping coffee as I finish up some things for Sunday. Julie's car is in a garage nearby where Tony from church is replacing a motor mount. A good excuse to be down here.

Fresno is not like other cities I've lived in, but I see similarities with other cities I know. The downtown is largely abandoned on the weekends and evenings. Government offices and businesses still operate out of the city center, but the center of influence and wealth has long since moved north. Many people who live north rarely if ever come downtown. Despite city efforts to revitalize the old downtown, not much seems to happen beyond the Tower district. All the major shopping, medical centers, professional offices and entertainment options are to the north. Plus, north is where most people want to live (like us).

Atlanta has a similar history of development. As crime and poverty increased downtown, new shopping and economic centers blossomed to the north of the city. Buckhead is THE place to be in Atlanta -- a spot several miles north of downtown. The city of Atlanta has since spent tons of money downtown: building an arena, stadium, parks, aquarium, etc. I suppose that downtown Atlanta is better today than it was 15 years ago, but I'm not sure how much all that development has helped. Georgia Tech's constant presence downtown is probably as responsible for keeping downtown afloat as anything else. Otherwise, most people from the north have little to no interest in going downtown.

What is the future of "downtown" in a city like Fresno? I'm too new here to know that much about it. While I'd love to be hopeful -- this coffee shop is nice enough -- I'm not sure how you redeem space like this.

One thing I know is that God loves the city. Although the Bible begins in a garden, the final picture is the city of God. In Revelation, the garden now exists in the middle of the city. Rather than being an ungodly place, the city is the place for God's final redemption. I wonder how God feels about the city of Fresno? And how should the people of God feel about the city in all its complexity, both the good and the ugly?

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