The national trend of building suburban developments to replace downtown shopping districts and urban residences was encouraged by federal Urban Renewal policies. These policies provided funding opportunities for localities and developers to build outside of city centers in the 1960s and 1970s. This popular approach to city planning dovetailed with the destruction of Southern Tier communities caused by the 1972 flood.
For example, there had already been plans for a "renewal" of Corning’s downtown district when the flood struck. The destruction made it necessary to quickly implement new plans. The Market Street Restoration Society undertook the efforts to restore the 19th Century architecture on the western half of Market Street, while the buildings on the east end that had been damaged were torn down. A new civic district was built in its place. This is the current home of the Southeast Steuben County Library, City Hall, city administration offices, and police headquarters. The old City Hall building is now the Rockwell Museum.
Elmira's experience with urban renewal was less successful. Storefronts downtown were overwhelmingly wiped out by the flood, while the unflooded suburban malls benefited from the natural disaster as residents needed to replace many of their possessions. Elmira's commercial district has never recovered to its pre-Agnes bustle.