6 ms·

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blis

I'm not disagreeing completely, but your location might be influencing your answer. I live in the northern portion of the USA, we get freezing winters and blistering summers. Come mid-winter...I am not going downtown to walk around outside, we don't hang out outside (unless we are talking winter sports, and then FULLY clothed). In summer, there needs to be shade. Fall and spring, we get wet. But really, it seems like you want a town with more parks.

dghughes 9y ago
I'm in eastern Canada and I agree with your weather statement. With 100km/h winds, -25C and 1m of snow it's not worth going out. I wish we had a subway system here and underground shops. Montreal and Toronto have huge indoor shopping areas connected by subway, I suppose technically they are malls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto)
- malnourish 9y ago
  Similarly, and while I don't have links on hand, Japan (at least Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo) have major shopping centers right in major train stations. The train station itself seems to be a destination. There are gyms (generally Konami health clubs), food and shopping, and gardens on the rooftop.
  - bitwize 9y ago
    In Osaka it seemed like every available square meter was converted to retail space. Shopping arcades, train station shops, underground causeways lined with shops, traditional malls. The back alleys have back alleys, and they're all lined with shops -- often specialty shops. I found one shop devoted to display cases for otaku to show off their model collection. Another shop specialized in LCD signs you could use in the storefront for your shop. It was NUTS. And yeah, the first time I saw a Konami gym my mind boggled. Is this how Snake stays in such good shape? Use promo code Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start and get a 30-day free membership!
- s73ver_ 9y ago
  So, growing up in the midwest, there is a museum dedicated to the area. It's on Main Street in the biggest town in the area. It's basement, which is now just used for storage, was part of an entire underground Main Street. You can still see the storefronts with the big windows and such down there. Apparently it stretched along most of downtown, mirroring the above.
  - cenazoic 9y ago
    This sounds fascinating - where is this, if you don't mind me asking?
    - technophate 9y ago
      Sounds a lot like Underground Atlanta - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Atlanta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Atlanta
    - s73ver_ 9y ago
      Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Dacotah Prairie Museum. http://brown.sd.us/dacotah-prairie-museum/home http://brown.sd.us/dacotah-prairie-museum/home Unfortunately they don't have much in the way of documentation about it. I might have to bug them about it when I go home for the holidays.
- dghughes 9y ago
  And about 300km to the north of my location in Gaspe today winds were 132km/h (82mph).
jogjayr 9y ago
Completely agree that weather makes a huge difference to how much you enjoy strolling outdoors over being in a mall. My main complaint about malls is how _loud_ they are: visually and auditory-ly (someone please tell me what the right word is). Malls are crowded, adorned in bright, garish colors, filled with stale food court food smells. There is very little seating other than at food courts, water fountains are hidden far away in some corner, loud music plays almost all the time, or it's noisy because of all the people. In sunny Silicon Valley, parking is a nightmare but there'll only be one bike stand hidden in a 50 acre space. It somehow has all of the worst features of a busy bazaar with almost none of the good (local products, "authentic"-ness, ability to haggle etc). Just standing in a shopping mall stresses me out. It's possible that the present state of the art of mall design ticks the boxes for the largest audience possible and I'm the weirdo.
- bussierem 9y ago
  RE: your grammar question: "Auditorily"
  - jogjayr 9y ago
    Ah of course. Thanks
- DeltaCoast 9y ago
  I've also heard/used 'aurally' src - http://www.dictionary.com/browse/aurally http://www.dictionary.com/browse/aurally
- taway_1212 9y ago
  I think it's just that the things you want don't translate into a good return on investment for the owners and so they don't get implemented. (i.e. customers would like them, but it would not translate into a increase in shopping large enough to actually justify the investment from the owner's point of view). My wider (and a bit tangential/ranty) theory is that the most tacky, tasteless and lacking self-control customers are actually the most profitable, hence businesses generally tend to pander to them. It's just much easier to extract unreasonable amounts of money from someone who's unreasonable (an adult child basically) than from someone sensible and reasonable, so for example us techies are not the target for a lot of companies.
3pt14159 9y ago
North Americans are too soft. I live in Toronto and it's wonderful to have nice streets that you can walk and bike on, even at ±30C.
- tdburn 9y ago
  Peach Brother! ;) I used to be much more resilient but now would prefer a warmer climate, bring on global warming!
- bpyne 9y ago
  As my brother-in-law in Maine says, "There's no bad weather, just bad clothing."
- metalliqaz 9y ago
  I thought Toronto was part of North America... Also, doesn't Montreal have the Underground City specifically for staying out of the cold in the winter?
  - mrtron 9y ago
    Toronto also has a large underground section downtown.
  - smnrchrds 9y ago
    Northern Americans?
  - 3pt14159 9y ago
    Yes and many people here, especially outside of the downtown / in the GTA, act like being outside for an hour is unbearable and that suburbs and cars are the only fix. They aren't.
  - PerfectElement 9y ago
    He or she is probably not North American.
CalRobert 9y ago
To be fair, other places work with this issue. Ljubljana gets plenty cold and has a lovely downtown - one of the prettiest I know. However, it has very little parking (part of its appeal), meaning it would be illegal to build it in the US.
j_s 9y ago
Malls are a great place to walk (especially for toddlers and the elderly) in the winter time!
matwood 9y ago
Some weather can be worked around though. Some of Denver's more popular shopping areas are outdoor type malls. You just have to design them with the weather in mind with things like fire pits and heaters to use in the winter. Denver gets very little precipitation so rain is something that generally is not an issue though.
Kluny 9y ago
I think you could apply the same thing to an indoor area. Make it feel like a truly public place, with comfortable seating areas, buskers, pretty things to look at, more local products and less bland chains, and less pressure to buy stuff.
eecc 9y ago
In Northern Italy - where the weather can be bad, if not ugly - they developed the Portico, where the buildings overhang the sidewalks and provide protection from rain and wind (see http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00007AaJoUp4oKU/s/750/750/Mantova-054.jpg http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00007AaJoUp4oKU/s/750...) Sure, they don't completely isolate humans from weather conditions but these solutions significantly improve the livability and prolonged usability of an urbanization, without burning bathtubs of gasoline to keep running. Humans are not obliged to colonize every single corner of the planet...

dghughes 9y ago

I'm in eastern Canada and I agree with your weather statement. With 100km/h winds, -25C and 1m of snow it's not worth going out. I wish we had a subway system here and underground shops. Montreal and Toronto have huge indoor shopping areas connected by subway, I suppose technically they are malls. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_City,_Montreal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PATH_(Toronto)

malnourish 9y ago
Similarly, and while I don't have links on hand, Japan (at least Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo) have major shopping centers right in major train stations. The train station itself seems to be a destination. There are gyms (generally Konami health clubs), food and shopping, and gardens on the rooftop.
- bitwize 9y ago
  In Osaka it seemed like every available square meter was converted to retail space. Shopping arcades, train station shops, underground causeways lined with shops, traditional malls. The back alleys have back alleys, and they're all lined with shops -- often specialty shops. I found one shop devoted to display cases for otaku to show off their model collection. Another shop specialized in LCD signs you could use in the storefront for your shop. It was NUTS. And yeah, the first time I saw a Konami gym my mind boggled. Is this how Snake stays in such good shape? Use promo code Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start and get a 30-day free membership!
s73ver_ 9y ago
So, growing up in the midwest, there is a museum dedicated to the area. It's on Main Street in the biggest town in the area. It's basement, which is now just used for storage, was part of an entire underground Main Street. You can still see the storefronts with the big windows and such down there. Apparently it stretched along most of downtown, mirroring the above.
- cenazoic 9y ago
  This sounds fascinating - where is this, if you don't mind me asking?
  - technophate 9y ago
    Sounds a lot like Underground Atlanta - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Atlanta https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Atlanta
  - s73ver_ 9y ago
    Aberdeen, South Dakota. The Dacotah Prairie Museum. http://brown.sd.us/dacotah-prairie-museum/home http://brown.sd.us/dacotah-prairie-museum/home Unfortunately they don't have much in the way of documentation about it. I might have to bug them about it when I go home for the holidays.
dghughes 9y ago
And about 300km to the north of my location in Gaspe today winds were 132km/h (82mph).

jogjayr 9y ago

Completely agree that weather makes a huge difference to how much you enjoy strolling outdoors over being in a mall. My main complaint about malls is how _loud_ they are: visually and auditory-ly (someone please tell me what the right word is). Malls are crowded, adorned in bright, garish colors, filled with stale food court food smells. There is very little seating other than at food courts, water fountains are hidden far away in some corner, loud music plays almost all the time, or it's noisy because of all the people. In sunny Silicon Valley, parking is a nightmare but there'll only be one bike stand hidden in a 50 acre space. It somehow has all of the worst features of a busy bazaar with almost none of the good (local products, "authentic"-ness, ability to haggle etc). Just standing in a shopping mall stresses me out. It's possible that the present state of the art of mall design ticks the boxes for the largest audience possible and I'm the weirdo.

bussierem 9y ago
RE: your grammar question: "Auditorily"
- jogjayr 9y ago
  Ah of course. Thanks
DeltaCoast 9y ago
I've also heard/used 'aurally' src - http://www.dictionary.com/browse/aurally http://www.dictionary.com/browse/aurally
taway_1212 9y ago
I think it's just that the things you want don't translate into a good return on investment for the owners and so they don't get implemented. (i.e. customers would like them, but it would not translate into a increase in shopping large enough to actually justify the investment from the owner's point of view). My wider (and a bit tangential/ranty) theory is that the most tacky, tasteless and lacking self-control customers are actually the most profitable, hence businesses generally tend to pander to them. It's just much easier to extract unreasonable amounts of money from someone who's unreasonable (an adult child basically) than from someone sensible and reasonable, so for example us techies are not the target for a lot of companies.

3pt14159 9y ago

North Americans are too soft. I live in Toronto and it's wonderful to have nice streets that you can walk and bike on, even at ±30C.

tdburn 9y ago
Peach Brother! ;) I used to be much more resilient but now would prefer a warmer climate, bring on global warming!
bpyne 9y ago
As my brother-in-law in Maine says, "There's no bad weather, just bad clothing."
metalliqaz 9y ago
I thought Toronto was part of North America... Also, doesn't Montreal have the Underground City specifically for staying out of the cold in the winter?
- mrtron 9y ago
  Toronto also has a large underground section downtown.
- smnrchrds 9y ago
  Northern Americans?
- 3pt14159 9y ago
  Yes and many people here, especially outside of the downtown / in the GTA, act like being outside for an hour is unbearable and that suburbs and cars are the only fix. They aren't.
- PerfectElement 9y ago
  He or she is probably not North American.

CalRobert 9y ago

To be fair, other places work with this issue. Ljubljana gets plenty cold and has a lovely downtown - one of the prettiest I know. However, it has very little parking (part of its appeal), meaning it would be illegal to build it in the US.

j_s 9y ago

Malls are a great place to walk (especially for toddlers and the elderly) in the winter time!

matwood 9y ago

Some weather can be worked around though. Some of Denver's more popular shopping areas are outdoor type malls. You just have to design them with the weather in mind with things like fire pits and heaters to use in the winter. Denver gets very little precipitation so rain is something that generally is not an issue though.

Kluny 9y ago

I think you could apply the same thing to an indoor area. Make it feel like a truly public place, with comfortable seating areas, buskers, pretty things to look at, more local products and less bland chains, and less pressure to buy stuff.

eecc 9y ago

In Northern Italy - where the weather can be bad, if not ugly - they developed the Portico, where the buildings overhang the sidewalks and provide protection from rain and wind (see http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00007AaJoUp4oKU/s/750/750/Mantova-054.jpg http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I00007AaJoUp4oKU/s/750...) Sure, they don't completely isolate humans from weather conditions but these solutions significantly improve the livability and prolonged usability of an urbanization, without burning bathtubs of gasoline to keep running. Humans are not obliged to colonize every single corner of the planet...