Why People Stay
The Secret Ingredient Behind “Sticky” Cities
Some places just stick to your soul.
You know the feeling, you visit a town for a weekend, and suddenly you’re picturing your life there.
Morning walks to the bakery. Friendly nods from the barista who remembers your name. Dinner at the local spot where the chef is practically a neighbor, not a celebrity.
It’s not the square footage of the buildings that makes you want to stay.
It’s the soul stitched between them.
Gensler’s 2025 City Pulse Survey revealed the “stickiest” cities, the ones residents are least likely to leave.
And here’s the punchline: in the U.S., they’re not the New York’s and L.A.s of the world. They’re places like San Antonio, San Diego, and Raleigh.
Not the biggest. But the most beloved.
So, what makes a city “sticky”?
According to Gensler, the top predictors are:
People don’t feel bored.
They feel at home.
They’re proud of their city.
They see it getting better as they age.
And—this one makes my heart sing—their sense of belonging grows over time.
From my Sept 2025 trip to Toronto, CA —>
Belonging isn’t fluffy. It’s infrastructure.
And that’s where incremental retail and thoughtful placemaking come in.
Why Cities Are Sticky
In my work advising communities on retail and placemaking, I see this all the time.
Developers think “sticky” cities are about shiny mixed-use complexes or massive retail anchors.
But the cities people actually fall in love with?
They’re built on:
Familiarity: Walkable streets where your senses create a rhythm — the same bell on the shop door, the same bench for your afternoon coffee.
Serendipity: Chance encounters with friends, neighbors, or even strangers who feel like they could become friends.
Belonging: Spaces that make you feel not just welcome, but expected. Like you’ve got a part to play in the story.
It’s not about scale. It’s about human scale. The trick is crafting places where people see themselves reflected, and invited to stay a while.
Soul Grows in the Gaps
“Sticky” cities leave space for curiosity to bloom.
They make room for the pop-up bakery that turns permanent. The local bookstore that doubles as a gathering spot. The corner café that starts as an experiment and becomes a community anchor.
This incremental, ground-up magic can’t be forced, but it can be nurtured.
We can design for it by:
Curating local, emerging brands who bring their own communities with them
Offering smaller, affordable spaces that lower the barrier to entry
Prioritizing public places over private profits: parks, plazas, porches, and patios where real life spills out and is welcome to linger.
When cities invite people to add their flavor, they become more than coordinates on a map. They become a tapestry of memories.
The Real ROI: Roots Over Rent Rolls
Cities often ask me how to measure success. How do we prove that all this soul actually “works”?
Here’s my answer: Watch for roots.
When residents start opening second locations instead of leaving.
When chefs become local celebrities not because of hype, but because of trust.
When people who visit say, “I could see myself living here” — and then do.
That’s the secret ingredient.
That’s the sticky stuff.
And it’s not about square footage.
It’s about soul per square foot.
Not retail. Not real estate. Connection. We need more WE.
💭 If you’re dreaming about how to make your city stickier — for residents, retailers, and visitors alike — I’d love to help you design for that kind of magic. Because cities that stick are cities that thrive.
