Day 28: The Strip - Las Vegas, NV

Eric Fredericks • Monday July 30, 2007

The number 3 top photo of this series is a true shocker: Las Vegas. Why is Las Vegas a shocker, you ask? Well, because I really don’t consider Las Vegas to be walkable at all. In fact, I think it’s one of the least walkable cities in the US. The region is plagued by sprawl – in the middle of the desert. Not a good plan for utility resource management. Nor the billions of dazzling lights and the grandiose car-oriented scale of the Las Vegas Strip. I almost choked when I read that Las Vegas was selected as a top 10 walking city. This proves that the list has no credibility.

With that said, there are some great examples of pedestrian design and some really beautiful sights to behold. This photo really stuck out to me because of the lights and the way the people turned out in the photo. It’s kind of haunting in a way to me.

Perhaps Las Vegas is a good lesson for those that aren’t familiar with walkable neighborhoods. Great sidewalks and design does not a walkable neighborhood make. There is a lot more to it—like mixes of uses, higher residential density, small setbacks—all of these are things Las Vegas doesn’t have much of. Plus, I hate being forced to enter casinos to continue walking down a sidewalk or to use a pedestrian bridge to cross the street—something that Las Vegas is very good at. Perhaps it does keep pedestrians safer, but for a city lover like myself, it’s a deal breaker.

You can view more photos of Vegas in the photo gallery.

This article is a part of the Exploring the Walkability of America in 30 Days photo series.

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: Las Vegas •• comments

New Slogan For Applebees

Eric Fredericks • Saturday April 1, 2006

Today, Applebees released a new slogan for their restaurants: Neighborhood-Destroying Bar and Grill.

...April Fools…

In all seriousness, maybe Applebees should change their slogan to that. Currently, they market their restaurants as the “Neighborhood Bar and Grill” and “Eatin’ Good in the Neighborhood.” I saw plenty of commercials for the restaurant stating this during March Madness. In reality, I have only seen maybe one Applebees in an urban “infill” or walkable neighborhood. The rest are in sprawl suburbia, usually in places that I do not think of as neighborhoods.

If Applebees did want to locate in a residential neighborhood, can you imagine all of the NIMBYs that would oppose it? And can you blame them? I surely would not want a huge parking lot surrounding a non-descript building in my neighborhood. However, I have welcomed the new Indian Restaurant on my block. The building architecture is excellent and right up on the sidewalk. It also has outdoor seating and superb pedestrian facilities with beautiful plants. I have not eaten there yet, but I would imagine that it is better than Applebees!

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: General •• Comments

Big-Box Debate: Wal-Mart vs. Target

Eric Fredericks • Wednesday March 22, 2006

I never understand why Wal-Mart gets so much criticism and other big-box retailers like Target are lauded and welcomed. I worked in a city where a development application came in for a Wal-Mart and the city exploded in outrage, so much so that Wal-Mart withdrew the application. Meanwhile, just a few months before that, a Target came in with no problems that I know of. Why is this? I assume it is all about marketing for a more “hip” image by Target, the clientele that is associated with shopping at Wal-Mart, and the supposed higher-quality products sold at Target. From a planning standpoint, they are both just as bad in my book. Although, Target seems to be willing to locate in more urban environments and even have parking garages, but perhaps that is only because Wal-Mart was run out of town first. It is amazing what the power of marketing and image can do for a company.

I also will freely admit that I frequently shop at Target. The store I shop at in Sacramento is the closest major retailer to where I live and is located on the fringes of downtown. Why do I shop there? Because there is nowhere else left to shop for the kinds of goods that Target sells! Okay, maybe if I went to four or five different stores, paid double, drove dozens of miles, and spent hours doing all of this.

The picture above is of one of the better developments I have seen that includes a Target store. This development, located in >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: General •• Comments

A Prediction: In 20 Years, Lifestyle Centers Will Be the Failed Malls

Eric Fredericks • Saturday November 12, 2005

The current trend in mall revitalization or new mall construction is to build “Lifestyle Centers.” Essentially, they are malls without a roof. They are supposedly built to promote active living and try to recreate the old Main Street USA feel. Here is my short analysis of them:

Some positives:
– Can integrate mixed-uses including housing
– The fresh air of the outdoors
– Public plazas, art, water features, and outdoor seating are common features
– Smaller seas of parking surrounding the development
– Often quality designs that work well for pedestrians

Some negatives:
– Not really any different from your average mall
– Often found in suburbia isolated from any other uses and not within a safe and walkable distance from anything else (residents nearby are essential to keeping outdoor places viable)
– Bad weather and winter months can be brutal for business, especially in frigid climates
– Some people do not like to walk even a short distance from their car and may seek out other malls that have their ever-so-friendly seas of asphalt around them
– Harder and more costly to keep the outdoor built environment “fresh” over the course of time – normal malls frequently redesign their interiors to keep up with the change in trends. >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: General •• Comments [2]

Gated Communities: Essentially Like Zoos?

Eric Fredericks • Thursday September 15, 2005

Heavy Trash is a Los Angeles project that “exposes” gated communities using a very interesting approach: they put up viewing platforms so that people can look over the walls of a gated community. It kind of reminds you of looking at animals in a zoo. I think that this project makes a strong point, but it is sad to think of humans as locked in cages. The site also offers answers to the question “what’s wrong with gated communities?” (Photo source: http://heavytrash.blogspot.com/)

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: Los Angeles •• Comments

The Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life

Eric Fredericks • Monday August 22, 2005

This is a fantastic article from the New York Times on community choices made by upper middle class executive gypsies, refered to as relos. This gives some insight to those that have never lived in “super suburbia” (like myself) on the trials and tribulations faced by those that do. The article focuses on a typical relo family in Alpharetta, Georgia, an elitist suburb of Atlanta. While this article goes beyond the realm of typical walkability issues usually discussed here, the underlying hint seems to be that the quality of life is better in walkable neighborhoods. And the story has a positive ending! >>Continue Reading This Article>>

 

Category: Suburbia •• Region: Atlanta •• Comments

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