Silver Spring: The Making of a ghost town…
Okay, I would like to start by saying that Silver Spring, MD cannot be exactly labeled as a ghost town, yet. One main criterion that makes a ghost town is when the economic activity that has supported it has failed or has slowly or abruptly ceased to exist for any reason. At first glance I would say that what drives Silver Spring’s economy would be restaurants, retail and taxpayers that pay into an increasingly over-priced housing market. Restaurants are abundant but have to compete with chain establishments in the heart of downtown. Retail which is sadly heading the way of large book and music stores due to the impact of the internet, pandemic and the one-sided economy where those who normally support these establishments can rarely afford to do so. Over-priced housing, both in the rental and homeowner columns, put a strain on consumers’ ability to pay into the economy. A community can’t envision a collective and equity-inspired growth and remain stuck in a mindset which does not focus on global outreach.
Like a farmer might tell you that to harvest good crops the soil must be fertile. I think that we need to cultivate our community for economic growth apart from being a place where people who work in DC come to sleep. We should encourage startups (the new industry) to make Silver Spring their new home. With office space, transportation, restaurants and more, we have the perfect soil for healthy growth.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Silver Spring does not qualify as a ghost town yet, but I challenge you to tell me what excites you about our community? How can we spark life into what is a sleepy community with unlimited yet untapped talent? Do we have politicians and administrators courageous enough to take on the challenge? Or will it be business as usual? Will we be encouraged to breathe life or quietly keep vigil? It can happen even here in the shadow of the nation’s capital. Ghost are souls tortured by unfulfilled lives condemned to a shadowy existence of what was supposed to be or could have been.