3 ms·
Regarding small businesses in walkable areas, I think maybe the flip side of the same phenomena is a partial explanation. Big box stores, large corporate office
by abeppu 4y ago
Regarding small businesses in walkable areas, I think maybe the flip side of the same phenomena is a partial explanation. Big box stores, large corporate office parks, etc, don't work in walkable areas; they need a large footprint and wrap themselves in a lot of parking and they want people to get in and out of those parking lots easily so they do best on an arterial. If the big businesses are structurally pushed away from walkable areas, small businesses will naturally be over-represented there. Plus they can benefit from serendipitous discovery in those locations, since their marketing budgets may be nil.
- munk-a 4y agoIt's interesting but that isn't actually always the case - a lot of cities use oversized blocks (blocks that are both taller and wider than a row of buildings - see Barcelona[1]) if this is the case then large department stores can expand into the courtyard or gardenspace interior of the block and, of course, in a lot of European cities a lot of malls are built vertically and underground - sometimes lying underneath a road with entrances on both sides. Large stores can work in walkable cities and they do have a place - but they are usually for relatively rare needs (so more likely to be focused on clothes or specialty groceries). 1. https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/aerial-view-of-barcelona-main-street-and-city-skyline-with-blue-sky-picture-id1037961710?k=20&m=1037961710&s=170667a&w=0&h=XjK8M-XXVP7KVjCtYXkhIsBKk_6_06cYn5EWnLPFBp0= https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/aerial-view-of-barcelon...
- presentation 4y agoIn Tokyo usually the large stores have small footprints but many floors, like the new Ikea in Shibuya (formerly Forever 21) - 7+ floors but each floor is maybe the size of 2-3 boutiques.