Dennis L Soden
Janet S Conary
Roberto Tinajero
University of Texas at El Paso
Institute for Policy and Economic Development
El Paso, Texas, one of the United States’ safest cities, lies immediately across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juarez in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, an urban area deemed one of the world’s most dangerous cities. As a result of over five years of a war on Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTOs) by the Federal Government of Mexico against the DTOs, a.k.a. “cartels”, El Paso has found itself in an unusual situation relative to its downtown area. As the community, unlike many other regions, has weathered the global recession relatively well, the spillover effects of the drug wars have impacted the community, business development, and investment. In many ways there have been positive impacts of in-migration of Mexican businesses, but in other ways negative effects have taken a toll. In this paper, we use survey data collected (2011 and 2012) from business owners in the central El Paso downtown area, employees who work in the area, and among the general public in the city to see if a “Sense of Community” exists about the downtown area or if retail leakage is occurring and a gradual decline in the city’s core is accelerating suburban retail and general business growth. In addition, we seek to determine if the consequences of the drug wars and the violence that has been generated is a factor in perceptions and values about the central downtown area.