Entertaining Development

Retail entertainment has exceeded the seemingly inflated expectations of a decade ago.

1 minute read

February 14, 2005, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


The 1990s saw the introduction of entertainment as a hot new shopping center type. But as is often the case with new retail concepts, experimentation and market realities led to some unexpected results. While stand-alone retail entertainment centers are still being created in specialized urban or faux-urban locations, they have not taken over the retail world in the way some originally envisioned. Instead, the impact has been more subtle and broad based. Even the terms used to describe retail entertainment have changed. What once were called urban entertainment centers are often referred to now as retail entertainment developments, lifestyle entertainment centers, destination developments, or entertainment-enhanced retail environments. In some cases, though entertainment is present at these developments, it is taken for granted and not mentioned at all.

...These entertaining environments, today’s version of retail entertainment, are being successfully introduced, integrated, and sustained as an essential component of an impressively wide range of development types: new multiuse communities and town centers; repositioned strip centers and regional shopping malls; main street projects and urban mixed-use developments; sports facilities, museums, and casinos; historic and cultural districts; and downtowns (urban and suburban), waterfronts, and neighborhood commercial districts."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Saturday, January 15, 2005 in Urban Land Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

2 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

3 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

4 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press