small city in austria, pretty much like described by OP. then a strip mall was built outside the city, cafés, bars and a cinema included. the inner city died ou

small city in austria, pretty much like described by OP. then a strip mall was built outside the city, cafés, bars and a cinema included. the inner city died out in a matter of months - only the elderly stayed. small mom&pop shops in the city you can reach by foot? sounds nice in theory, but this also means running to 10 different shops, lugging your purchases around for the whole trip. honestly - driving to a strip mall where you can buy everything and store the shopping in your trunk is just a lot more convenient. i mean, as soon as you have to get in the car to do the shopping, the strip mall always wins. i live in a big city and do the grocery shopping per pedes almost every day - but i don't need much (don't have to shop for a 3-4 hungry mouths). it might work as an alternative - for people that are fed up with the car centrist society and actively seek out a place where the community takes its place. i'm just not sure that small, village friendly businesses would be competitive when strip malls are around.