Making Big Box Stores More Walkable

June Williamson, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, spoke with Streetsblog about the challenge of making that most auto-centric of development typology—the big box—friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.

1 minute read

September 9, 2015, 12:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Angie Schmitt interviewed June Williamson, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, about the possibility of salvaging the streets and parking lots around big box stores "to make them more walkable for the people who shop and work at these stores every day?"

Schmitt what she found in the interview, organized around a few central concepts, some of which are listed here:

  • "Make sure you have sidewalks and crosswalks."
  • "Create a path through the parking lot."
  • "Make sure there's bike parking."
  • "Create some outdoor public spaces and seating."

The article includes more details on these points, as well as the others included in the article. 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 in Streetsblog USA

Young Professional

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 and Environmental 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 and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Passengers board an Amtrak train under a cloudy sky.

Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement

The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.

September 18, 2026 - Mass Transit

The Gross Reservoir, a large body of water surrounded by trees and mountains.

Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion

Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.

September 18, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A coal power plant in Iowa billows smoke into the air.

Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand

For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.

September 17, 2026 - Inside Climate News

A crowd of people boarding Boston's green line in an underground subway station.

Boston has spent millions making the Green Line more accessible — and there’s no end in sight

While the city has invested millions into expanding and adding platforms to the Green Line to make it more accessible, new train cars set to arrive next year will be too tall for disabled passengers to board without raising the current platforms.

September 22 - Boston Globe

Railroad tracks in Idaho passing a home by a river.

Idaho may see an 18% drop in federal surface transit funding — the largest estimated cut in the US

Transit systems in rural communities are much more reliant on federal funding to provide their services.

September 22 - Grist

A Florida family with their belongings in a wagon walks past a destroyed storm after a hurricane.

How ‘post-disaster gentrification’ alters neighborhoods after natural calamities

After hurricanes, fires or other calamities, the original residents of a community are often replaced by younger, wealthier residents.

September 22 - Inside Climate News