According to the National Association of Realtors, 56% of Americans prefer smart growth neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are defined by having retail,restaurant,and businesses within walking distance of home. During the building boom, all of these were added in the downtown Miami area, which is a large reason why the area has seen a 9% increase in population in 2011, as reported in today’s Miami Herald.
Although many may argue that people moved to downtown Miami because of the low rents, if the area hadn’t added a lot of the social infrastructure at the same time that condos were being built, people would not have moved to the area as quickly as they did.