With many businesses permanently adopting remote or hybrid working models in the post-pandemic world, cities across America are wondering what the future holds for their downtowns. After all, empty office buildings could well spark significant closures for the many coffee shops, delis, and retailers that previously served weekday workers.

However, this is far from a new challenge for some areas across the US. America's former manufacturing and farm communities have faced serious economic downturn over the last 50 years, with the modernization of industry and the construction of new highways meaning that brighter opportunities simply lie elsewhere. Read on to discover the stories of historic American towns that are being left for dead.

Once-booming American towns facing a bleak future