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7 minutes is disingenuous when you consider the time spent getting into your car at one end, finding a park at the other, walking between the car park and the s

7 minutes is disingenuous when you consider the time spent getting into your car at one end, finding a park at the other, walking between the car park and the shop, navigating the (large) shop and waiting at a checkout. All these things are simpler and quicker if you can pop out, walk a few blocks to a (much smaller) corner store and grab the things you need. For me walking a 2.5km round trip to my nearest local store vs driving the 8km return to my supermarket both take about half an hour if I'm grabbing a couple of things. In terms of space - no one is suggesting these grocery stores should be the same size as a supermarket - if they are less centralised they need to hold less stock and can be smaller. If you can walk there, you don't need enormous car parks. It may not be as ~efficient~ but it sure makes for a nicer existence.

mamon 8y ago
The other thing is that with mixed zoning you can get so much more than just grocery stores. My neighborhood has the following within the 1000 feet radius: - grocery store (x3) - dentist's office (x2) - hairdressing salon - pharmacy - kingergarten (x2) - pizzeria - Starbucks - music school - post office None of this thins ruins the overall experience, because they all are small scale and none of them has their own parking lot - they are located at the ground floor of residential buildings (except music school which has it's own small building). Kindergardens are most interesting case because they both are actually just apartments adapted to their new role, so each of them hosts maybe 20-30 kids.
burfog 8y ago
I used the 5-mile example, but usually it is less. Parking is plentiful right at the door of the supermarket; there is no need to find it. I've never seen a good answer for how walking is supposed to work for the less-able-bodied. My knee isn't getting better with age. It's odd to even think of a grocery store that isn't a supermarket. I guess that would be like a Wawa, 7-11, Circle-K, or Walgreens. Those exist in suburbia, but they are nothing like what I expect for normal food shopping. I can count on being able to buy artichokes, fresh and frozen whole turkey, fresh and dried apricots, asparagus, Bartlett pears, frozen rabbit, fresh cilantro, fresh and dried figs, bean sprouts, and alfalfa sprouts. I can almost count on quinces, dragonfruit (pitaya), and fresh beef heart. Other people can count on what they like, somehow choosing Muenster and rice cakes and tofu.
- batiudrami 8y ago
  My examples were less than 5 miles, too. 2.5mi each way to drive vs 0.8mi each way to walk. I like having both options - I stop at the supermarket on my way home from work for a bigger shop. But when I just need one thing it's great to be able to walk and get it. Plentiful parking is available at my supermarket door too - but it's a different experience. The need to navigate other cars, the busy intersections which inevitably exist around shopping centres, the larger store with more people - it all creates a larger and more frustrating/stressful experience than a quick walk in the sunshine when I only need a couple of things. None of those products seem extraordinary for a small grocery store to stock they all sound like staples of any shop - especially the fresh food. If they don't exist in your local stores then that is of course an issue - but it is an issue by design where you live. I imagine part of the cost if that to achieve the kind of stock levels I have you need a certain population density (I live on the urban/suburban fringe of my city) - and if you live in the suburbs with everyone on a 600m2 block then of course it will be difficult to maintain fresh stock and a large enough customer base. But this article is talking about making cities walkable areas so it doesn't really apply to suburbs anyway.

mamon 8y ago

The other thing is that with mixed zoning you can get so much more than just grocery stores. My neighborhood has the following within the 1000 feet radius: - grocery store (x3) - dentist's office (x2) - hairdressing salon - pharmacy - kingergarten (x2) - pizzeria - Starbucks - music school - post office None of this thins ruins the overall experience, because they all are small scale and none of them has their own parking lot - they are located at the ground floor of residential buildings (except music school which has it's own small building). Kindergardens are most interesting case because they both are actually just apartments adapted to their new role, so each of them hosts maybe 20-30 kids.

burfog 8y ago

I used the 5-mile example, but usually it is less. Parking is plentiful right at the door of the supermarket; there is no need to find it. I've never seen a good answer for how walking is supposed to work for the less-able-bodied. My knee isn't getting better with age. It's odd to even think of a grocery store that isn't a supermarket. I guess that would be like a Wawa, 7-11, Circle-K, or Walgreens. Those exist in suburbia, but they are nothing like what I expect for normal food shopping. I can count on being able to buy artichokes, fresh and frozen whole turkey, fresh and dried apricots, asparagus, Bartlett pears, frozen rabbit, fresh cilantro, fresh and dried figs, bean sprouts, and alfalfa sprouts. I can almost count on quinces, dragonfruit (pitaya), and fresh beef heart. Other people can count on what they like, somehow choosing Muenster and rice cakes and tofu.

batiudrami 8y ago
My examples were less than 5 miles, too. 2.5mi each way to drive vs 0.8mi each way to walk. I like having both options - I stop at the supermarket on my way home from work for a bigger shop. But when I just need one thing it's great to be able to walk and get it. Plentiful parking is available at my supermarket door too - but it's a different experience. The need to navigate other cars, the busy intersections which inevitably exist around shopping centres, the larger store with more people - it all creates a larger and more frustrating/stressful experience than a quick walk in the sunshine when I only need a couple of things. None of those products seem extraordinary for a small grocery store to stock they all sound like staples of any shop - especially the fresh food. If they don't exist in your local stores then that is of course an issue - but it is an issue by design where you live. I imagine part of the cost if that to achieve the kind of stock levels I have you need a certain population density (I live on the urban/suburban fringe of my city) - and if you live in the suburbs with everyone on a 600m2 block then of course it will be difficult to maintain fresh stock and a large enough customer base. But this article is talking about making cities walkable areas so it doesn't really apply to suburbs anyway.