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I don't think I've ever seen an American strip mall without a wide sidewalk running in front of every business on the strip. The sidewalk is such an integral c

I don't think I've ever seen an American strip mall without a wide sidewalk running in front of every business on the strip. The sidewalk is such an integral component of a strip mall, it sounds like what you're describing isn't a strip mall at all. And if people are so lazy that they drive around the parking lot instead of using the sidewalk, that reflects on them, not the sidewalk.

marricks 6y ago
> And if people are so lazy that they drive around the parking lot instead of using the sidewalk, that reflects on them, not the sidewalk. I think this reflects a lot of comments, "American's are lazy" and "Look at this german punks walking and respecting traffic laws!" Is the argument US is just inherently lazy? Could there be something else at play? I think it's just that when a use case isn't a main focus of design those users will be stuck trying to hack the system or having a poor experience. USA isn't designed for walkers most places, those people will behave "badly" because of it. Also, yes there are strip malls that bad, I can show one but then we'll be having pedantic arguments over "hey if you walk an extra 600 feet you have a sidewalk!" or something. Like, even the idea of a strip mall inherently is car centric, with most square footage devoted to parking and who wants to walk (or even drive!) through a parking lot.
- bigbubba 6y ago
  > Is the argument US is just inherently lazy? If the shoe fits... I've seen too many young slightly chubby people coasting around on mobility scooters at Walmart instead of walking a few hundred meters to think laziness isn't a strong component to this sort of behavior.
  - marricks 6y ago
    You're only thinking one level deep, what causes the laziness. My argument is US society actively encourages it on multiple levels starting from just the design of our cities.
rconti 6y ago
Walking TO the strip mall, not walking across the storefronts. Strip malls typically have awful pedestrian accommodations in the parking lot; there's often no "safe" way to get from the street to the stores.

marricks 6y ago

> And if people are so lazy that they drive around the parking lot instead of using the sidewalk, that reflects on them, not the sidewalk. I think this reflects a lot of comments, "American's are lazy" and "Look at this german punks walking and respecting traffic laws!" Is the argument US is just inherently lazy? Could there be something else at play? I think it's just that when a use case isn't a main focus of design those users will be stuck trying to hack the system or having a poor experience. USA isn't designed for walkers most places, those people will behave "badly" because of it. Also, yes there are strip malls that bad, I can show one but then we'll be having pedantic arguments over "hey if you walk an extra 600 feet you have a sidewalk!" or something. Like, even the idea of a strip mall inherently is car centric, with most square footage devoted to parking and who wants to walk (or even drive!) through a parking lot.

bigbubba 6y ago
> Is the argument US is just inherently lazy? If the shoe fits... I've seen too many young slightly chubby people coasting around on mobility scooters at Walmart instead of walking a few hundred meters to think laziness isn't a strong component to this sort of behavior.
- marricks 6y ago
  You're only thinking one level deep, what causes the laziness. My argument is US society actively encourages it on multiple levels starting from just the design of our cities.

rconti 6y ago

Walking TO the strip mall, not walking across the storefronts. Strip malls typically have awful pedestrian accommodations in the parking lot; there's often no "safe" way to get from the street to the stores.