Main street retail is the newest real estate trend. But sometimes reality "falls laughably short of the hype," writes John King.
"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."
Thanks to The Practice of New Urbanism
Read the full story: Main Street mirage: Retail complexes mimic quaint urban districts
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
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Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
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Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment
The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.
Mass. votes against statewide minimum lot size for single-family homes
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Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval
The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.
‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds
Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello