Retail

Somewhere Between Blight and Gentrification...

Sun, 11/15/2009 - 15:54

Is there a happy medium between the run-down liquor store and the gourmet shop?

What is the best form of Main Street retail, as people move back to the city and re-emergent neighborhoods acquire shops and services that were once lacking?

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The Planetizen News Brief - 10/8/09

4:15 minutes (3.9 MB)

The Galapagos Island deal with a human invasion, and vacant retail is finding new life all across the country -- all on this week's Planetizen News Brief, airing weekly on the nationally-syndicated radio show "Smart City". Read, download or listen.

8 October 2009 - 3:00pm

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Fighting Blight With Art

Palm Springs officials are working to fill the windows of empty storefronts with art and movie posters in order to keep the streetscape feeling lively.

20 September 2009 - 5:00am

The Los Angeles Times

Pop-Up Stores Find New Popularity in Bad Economy

Pop-up stores -- stores that fill retail space for a couple of quick months, than vanish -- were once scoffed at by retail landlords. Today, they're plugging holes in the retail economy.

2 September 2009 - 7:00am

Retail Traffic Magazine

States Cutting Economic Development Budgets

Retail Traffic Magazine reports that money-starved states like California are raising taxes on commercial property and gutting local economic development agencies, hurting developers.

31 August 2009 - 8:00am

Retail Traffic Magazine

Reviving High Streets With Housing

With nearly 20,000 retail outlets shutting down so far this year in England, the future of towns' high streets looks shaky. But some say reviving these main streets is as simple as converting empty shops into housing units.

20 August 2009 - 10:00am

Building

Car-Free Days Cancelled in One Vancouver Site

Local businesses on a busy Vancouver street that had been hosting weekly car-free events this summer have protested and effectively cancelled the event.

11 August 2009 - 3:00am

CBC

7-Eleven Opening Stores, Not Closing Them

The convenience store announced it would open 200 new stores this year. A rep said that attractive locations had opened up for the retailer that were previously too expensive.

15 July 2009 - 6:00am

The New York Times

The Secret To Reactivating Retail: Fountains?

Fountains are highly effective at attracting shoppers, say retail operators REIT Macerich. Their annual survey of 7,000 shoppers says that shoppers connect fountains with a positive shopping experience.

10 July 2009 - 8:00am

Retail Traffic Magazine

Retailers Fleeing Detroit

As recently as the turn of this century, retailers were taking a chance on downtown Detroit. But today, Starbucks, Borders and others are pulling their stores out.

19 June 2009 - 5:00am

The Wall St. Journal

Retailers Fled? Think Local, Experts Say

Real estate brokers are looking towards local and atypical businesses to fill empty retail space left behind by shrinking and bankrupt national chains like Starbucks and CompUSA.

19 May 2009 - 1:00pm

International Council Of Shopping Centers

Big Box Exit Spells Trouble for Local Economy

In Dublin, CA, the failure of a slew of big box retailers has created retail deadzones, dragging down local businesses and economies.

13 May 2009 - 6:00am

San Francisco Chronicle

Vacant Storefronts Sell Space for Ads

Crushed by the falling economy, failing retail spaces are renting their storefronts to make a some extra cash.

12 May 2009 - 1:00pm

The New York Times

D.C. Considers Retail in Train Stations

Washington D.C. transit officials are planning to allow retail vendors to set up shop in some of the city's train stations. Proponents say the move could aid security by putting more "eyes" on the system.

10 May 2009 - 7:00am

Greater Greater Washington

The Art of Balancing Retail

Diversity is important to neighborhood commercial areas, but getting the right balance of retail and restaurants without disincentivizing the former is not so simple.

30 April 2009 - 7:00am

Greater Greater Washington

Luxury Replaces Local Goods and Services in Malibu

As a new luxury retail center replaces a decades-old hardware store in upscale Malibu, California, many worry about the troubled future facing local businesses and services.

17 April 2009 - 10:00am

Los Angeles Times

Largest Real Estate Bust In History

General Growth Properties, the 2nd largest mall operator in the nation, declared bankruptcy this morning. The company was felled by mounting debt from short-term mortgages it used to expand its holdings.

16 April 2009 - 8:00am

The New York Times

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Las Vegas Mega Development on Shaky Ground

A major retail and tourist project in Las Vegas -- what some are calling the largest project in the world -- is stumbling amid the recession. Its developers and the city are unsure of its future.

10 April 2009 - 11:00am

Reuters

"Land of Extremes" Feels the Hurt

California's Inland Empire's status as one of the nation's leader in foreclosures has fleeing retail as proof of it. This article offers a glimpse in this "land of extremes."

26 March 2009 - 9:00am

The New York Times