Walkable Neighborhoods

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 [...]

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>>

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>>

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 [...]

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>>