Beginning in the early 1990s, the urban cores of many American cities experienced a building renaissance, with the construction of new commercial buildings and tourist-themed facilities continuing apace for over a decade. Despite this development, inner city retail development has generally stagnated over the past few years, with the exception of a few cities. In this 32-page report released in July 2003, Kenneth T. Rosen, Grace J. Kim, and Avani A. Patel examines "the major changes in the real estate finance marketplace, the implications of those changes on development decisions, and public policy actions that could facilitate projects in these markets." In the paper, the authors note that despite the strong economy of the 1990s, most corporations dealing in institutional real estate projects have elected to work on projects in smaller suburban markets, and in a select few cities that have robust downtown areas. Overall, this paper is a compelling look at the nature of the retail markets in urban areas, and what type of public policy interventions might encourage increased investment in these areas.