N.I.C.E. is down but not out, I'm sure. So I've been poking around at sites on business improvement districts, and I've found insights here and there.

Here's one in an article by a consultant, John L. Gann, called "Aspirins for Downtown." It's one of several articles.

Downtowns didn't go downhill because building facades had been modified to historical incorrectness. Nor because sidewalks were too plain-looking. Nor because elevated trains running over the street were a "blighting" nuisance. Neither was it because of inadequate police presence, lack of a "gateway," litter on the street, lampposts devoid of banners, no "wayfinding," or unsightly signs.

The origin of the downtown headache, in other words, wasn't a beauty deficiency, or a historical authenticity deficiency. We've fixed all these things, but, since we missed the causes, the fundamental problems remain.

A simple question reveals the answer: What did downtown have when it was at the peak of health and vitality that it down't have now? The answer, as obvious as it has been elusive, is: Activities.

Lots of them.

Stores, jobs, offices, taverns, movie theaters, nightclubs, banks, transportation centers, churches, good restaurants, post offices, housing, health clubs, services. In short, things to do. More specifically, economic things to do.

Downtown thrived when it was the pre-eminent place for large numbers of people to either spend or make money. And more people are motivated to do these things than to take in museums, appreciate architectural history, or experience the visual delights of ornamental pavers underfoot.

As I understood it, the first N.I.C.E. addressed only the "aspirins" as if things-to-do would follow on their own.