big box stores
Why Big Box Stores Are Abandoning Their Urban Experiment
And why that may not be such a bad thing.
The Walkable Urbanism of Big Box Stores
For residents of many U.S. small towns and exurbs, the local Walmart offers a surprising benefit missing elsewhere in their communities: walkability.
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.
Big Box Stores Leading the Shift to Renewable Energy
The cheap price of solar and wind energy have corporations "falling all over themselves" to embrace renewable, according to this article. Target and Wal-Mart lead the green arms race.
Dense Development Generates More Property Taxes Than Big Box Stores in Chicago
After examining property taxes for Target, Family Dollar, and Liberty Bank in Chicago, Steven Vance found that nearby dense development paid more per square foot than the big box developments.
6 Ways Big Box Stores Harm Communities
A compendium of big box dissent.
Ross May Be Immune from the Amazon Effect
Ross Stores continues its expansion in the face of a much-foretold retail apocalypse. The shopping experience it provides may be one reason it can stand up to Amazon.
Debating the Role of Amazon Delivery Service in the Future Built Environment
The team at Strong Towns is taking an in-depth look at Amazon, with a week of events, including the point-counterpoint series shared here.
Investigation: Walmarts Abuse Local Police Force Resources
An investigation by the Tampa Bay Times finds Walmart stores treating local police forces like their own personal security forces.
Big Box Store Target Focusing Growth in Urban Areas
Target announced recently that almost all of the stores it expects to open in 2016 and 2017 will be located in urban areas.
Stories of Big Box Redevelopment Success—After Years of Frustration
The Minneapolis area yields two case studies of troubled sites, home to big box retailers, finally rejoining the community.
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.
Jane Jacobs' Sidewalk Ballet, Gone Forever in New York City?
Alex Marshall discusses whether Jane Jacobs' famous "Sidewalk Ballet" is dead on the streets of New York City.
A Framework to Assess the Hidden Costs of Big-Box Stores
A narrow approach to land use policy makes it difficult for communities to assess, and consider, the full impact of new big-box stores. But on Cape Cod, a regional planning framework allows the hidden consequences of big boxes to inform decisions.
Small Screens Make for Better Cities
News out last week that big-box retailer Staples plans to reduce its square footage by 15 percent heralds a larger trend of smaller screens necessitating smaller boxes. Lydia DePillis examines why this will be a boon to cities.
Vermont Towns Battle to Maintain a Sense of Place
Chain store opponents in Vermont battle to preserve the uniqueness of their small towns by pushing against a planned Dollar General Store. While a review board narrowly approved a plan, it also attached a lengthy list of restrictions.
Here Comes the Walmart Express
The megaretailer is part of a trend to rethink and shrink stores, as big boxes around the country have seen their sales plummet.
Maine's "Informed Growth Act" Repealed
The 4-year-old Informed Growth Act required large retail stores in Maine to go through an extra hoop to analyze their potential adverse impact on the community. The Maine House repealed the act last week.
Chain Retailers Should Benefit From Urban Rebirth
Rocco Pendola says chain stores are starting to adapt and move into downtown Los Angeles, following the population boom and setting a precedent for chain retail in downtowns across the U.S.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
