Artificial Urbanity: Main Street Retail

"Known in the trade as "Main Street retail," it's a real estate trend that can be described prosaically as a shopping center with housing on top. If you're a developer, you're likely to spin the movement as something much more profound -- a 21st century take on neighborhood centers of yore, where you run errands and meet friends and live a good portion of your life.Sounds great -- except that at Santana Row in San Jose and Bay Street in Emeryville, reality falls laughably short of the hype. Viewed strictly as development projects, they aren't bad, especially Santana Row. But if this is what passes for community, we might as well unroll our sleeping bags in the nearest mall."