Strip Malls
Is a Taco a Sandwich? It Depends on Your City’s Zoning Laws
A land use dispute in Indiana points to broader questions about zoning and property rights.
Opinion: Strip Malls Are a Huge Untapped Source for Housing
Redeveloping just the best-suited 10 percent of America’s strip malls could result in 700,000 new affordable homes nationwide.
From Department Store to Apartments
A former Sears store has a new life as a housing complex.
La Placita Cinco: A Strip Mall Redevelopment for Housing Affordability and Neighborhood Revitalization
U.S. cities lack land for new development but have many derelict or defunct parcels in need of revitalization. There are an estimated 70,000 strip mall centers in the country, all with tremendous potential for affordable and workforce housing.
Strip Malls as a Housing Solution
The American strip mall may be a dying breed of commercial development, but could the buildings serve a new use as sustainable housing?
How to Transform the Humble Strip Mall
One Northern Virginia shopping center illustrates how the auto-centric strip mall can be repurposed to better serve its community.
A Contemporary Update to the #BlackFridayParking Tradition
For years, Strong Towns readers have been pointing out the vast empty parking lots on the busiest shopping day of the year as evidence of poor land use regulations. Now the #iwishthisparkingwas hashtag imagines a different future.
How Typical Economic Development Kills Community Character
An economic development pro makes an argument for an approach to economic development that prioritizes the urban design decisions that favor community character.
The Challenge of Re-Orienting Strip Malls for Transit
Bill Lindeke writes of the daunting urban design and planning challenge presented by America's post-war fascination with the strip mall.
The Case for Protecting Strip Malls from 'Commercial Gentrification'
As our suburbs diversify, the most affordable commercial districts found in such areas (often in strip malls) become an important entry point for immigrants to build their 'American Dream'. Kaid Benfield asks if such opportunities deserve protection.
A Clash of Cultural Sensibilities in South Philly
Allyn Gaestel outlines the tensions that arise as a growing Vietnamese community begins to define the visual character of Washington Ave. in South Philadelphia.
North America Rethinks Its Strip Malls
As the strip malls ubiquitous across the suburbs of the United States and Canada lose favor and become increasingly derelict, planners and developers debate whether there is anything about the 'retail relics' worth salvaging.
Dept. Store Blocks Use of Easement to Stifle Competition
A Sears Shopping Center in Lincoln Park, Michigan has found a novel way to kill their competitor - close the easement the developer is using to access the property.
Can A Strip Mall Be Worthy of Historic Preservation?
The Arlington, VA County Board is voting in July on naming 23 properties as 'essential' to preserve. Among those chosen are two strip malls.
Strategic Planning for Stagnating Strips
Deteriorating commercial strips are commonplace in today's auto-oriented suburbs. Errin Welty outlines her strategy for turning stagnating strips into vibrant shopping districts.
The Strip is Overbuilt
We've got more commercial strip development than we can handle, says Edward T. MacMahon of ULI, and the economy is restructuring the retail landscape away from the strip.
Creating Neighborhood Capital from Strip Malls
Strip malls are in virtually every American city, but they're rarely an important part of those cities. Ava Bromberg says they can be. Her idea is to turn strip malls into community-owned hubs that generate capital within their neighborhood and keep it there.
From Trash to Splash
Dumpster diving takes on new meaning as a New York-based design firm reinvents vacant lots as mini-resorts by converting old trash bins into swimming pools.
Redressing Strip Malls
Strip malls could be the next frontier for urban redevelopment, according to Chris Nelson.
Ideas to Outmode the Strip Mall
In a contest sponsored by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, architecture firms nationwide competed to show off how they would best use land currently devoted to strip malls. Bustler provides the winning entries.
Pagination
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