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RE: So Long, Farewell...
Yup! Funny you mention socialising - another angle on that matter - we saw a very interesting evolution in our city over the last 15-to-5 years ago.
Before that, two main streets in the very center of the city, parks, theaters, cinema, etc, the best place for taking a walk and whatnot were full of restaurants, pubs, and small shops with the most various goods, from groceries to tourist trinkets. Over the years, the place was more and more popular, estate prices rose, and soon one by one all the businesses closed or moved away, and all the high-value places were rented to other businesses and soon all were filled with ... banks, insurances, home/flat rental, financial advisors, etc.
That was a bit over 10 years ago. I think. Give or take three. Over next ~years, that streets almost died out. The city still kept the rental rates high, since it was famous area and strict center, but really next to nobody visited them. Any people's place like a pub often survived max 0.5-1 yr, because of high costs and rare customers.. Only a few places that positioned themselves as high-tier with ungodly prices stayed longer.
Few years ago, maybe 5 already, the city council finally noticed that their "prestige area" is almost a ghost town, gradually cancelled (or just didnt extend) rentals for the banks/insurances/etc, lowered the rates a bit (idk how much, but I've heard they did, it was a rare thing to see). Gradually typical restaurants and pubs showed back, and now for the last few years I can say it starts looking good again. Along with them showed up some smaller businesses selling various beers/wines/pasta/pastries/etc, but mostly only those that can bump their prices by craft/eco/bio/vegan/etc labels (and they probably are true to that, since they taste much better).
I'm glad the city council took a turn. But it took I think almost a decade to realize that they can't have a lively city center without streets frequented by many, and in turn without places that those 'many' actually want to walk in ad hoc and stay for an hour or two, not just drive by and admire the building :D
The character of many town centres has changed. The local authorities ought to encourage more people to hang out there and then all businesses stand to benefit. I live in a village that just has a few scattered shops. A lot of the pubs have shut down and the remaining ones may not get many customers. People don't go out like they used to. There are a lot of new homes being built around here, so that could bring more changes.