Day 28: The Strip – Las Vegas, NV
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...
Read MoreNew Slogan For Applebees
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...
Read MoreBig-Box Debate: Wal-Mart vs. Target
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...
Read MoreA Prediction: In 20 Years, Lifestyle Centers Will Be the Failed Malls
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 ...
Read MoreGated Communities: Essentially Like Zoos?
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...
Read MoreThe Five-Bedroom, Six-Figure Rootless Life
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....
Read MorePhoto Gallery
