I grew up in suburbia as well, but it was different. A lot (not all) of the Boston suburbs are little towns in and of themselves with village centers that have lots of little shops, and parks in the middle, not just big chains. I'm not sure if it is just because the towns are older and the centers sprung up before. The towns might also have strip malls and malls but they do have village centers as well. I often wonder how that happened, because it set my expectations for what a suburb should be, making house hunting harder in other parts of the US.

Quaint little businesses that front on streets with no parking only stay in business when there isnt a strip mall with a similar business nearby.

Zoning isn't causing this. Car culture drives it.

NicoleK, that is because those small towns predate the car. They were initially built with the concept that everyone walks everywhere. After all horses are really expensive. And reworking everything later is more expensive than it is worth.

Isab is right, this isn't a zoning phenomenon but a car phenomenon. And while Amy finds suburbia deadening it appears the majority of Americans don't. Different strokes for different folks.

Yeah Austin is doing more of those no-parking-lot, right-up-to-the-street commercial/residential mixed-use things. Which is dandy (and I prefer that vibe too). But the mass transit situation here is abysmal, and, unless you can afford $2,500 a month for a studio nearby, you need to drive and park.

So I go to the “ugly” strip malls where I can park, which, let’s face it, have the better restaurants anyway because that’s where the immigrant mom-and-pops set up shop.

A few places here are smart and offer the charming-shop vibe with a nearby garage so you can park and then walk around.

A few places here are smart and offer the charming-shop vibe with a nearby garage so you can park and then walk around. ~ sofar at July 18, 2018 9:37 AM

Walnut Creek, California seems to have recognized that. The entire downtown is a giant shopping mall with on-street parking and several parking garages strategically located throughout. A shuttle bus system runs through downtown, taking shoppers from one end to the other.

If I can’t park, I don’t go. When you have a family, you’re not biking over to the cute neighborhood artisan market for manchego and a bottle of wine. You’re going to the grocery store for a jumbo pack of diapers, gallons of milk, 40-pound bags of dog food, two broiler chickens, a couple cartons of eggs, a case of sparkling water, etc.

Walnut Creek, California seems to have recognized that. The entire downtown is a giant shopping mall with on-street parking and several parking garages strategically located throughout. A shuttle bus system runs through downtown, taking shoppers from one end to the other.

Conan the Grammarian at July 18, 2018 9:54 AM

And that is ok for tourist spots. But if you are a seventy year old needing a laundromat or a tax preparation service you need to be able to pull up near the door.

Strip malls exist for small businesses that need some parking. Many of those businesses are not the sort you would want next door in a residential neighborhood.

They are ugly little businesses for the ninty eight percent of the human race who value convenience and price more than aesthetics.

Any business that doesn't recognize the needs of the customers they are catering to, doesn't last long. Even some that do, dont last long.

'car culture' isn't a complete answer. You can find a range of alternative retail / commercial development models from the same era that have parking in the rear and even above or under buildings.

I think that the typical 'strip mall' design predominates because it's cheaper to build and provides better visibility for police and security officers from the road. And FWIW 'strip malls' can be perfectly nice looking w/ a bit of landscaping and architectural touches. But again, cost is the deciding factor.

If you're really into this stuff, the mid atlantic region still has a lot of early examples of the various approaches. That region was a test bed for the Federal Government's highway and urban planning programs after WWII.

The route 1 corridor in New Jersey, near Princeton is a good place to start. The road systems looks like they were created by a race of super intelligent Gerbils.

Isab,
Walnut Creek is hardly a tourist destination. It is a very affluent suburb of SF located well inland of anything a a tourist might want to see or do in the Bay Area.

Funny - more than once, I've heard of malls closing in the last few years because people often prefer to order online.

At any rate, I definitely prefer second-hand stuff anyway, since the inventory is less predictable. Also, while there's plenty to be said for eating out with friends, cooking together is cheaper and can be just as fun, if you do it right. Why spend money at a place that's hardly unique and where the menu almost never changes, like McDonald's? If I'm going to spend money on a short-term luxury, it had better be a somewhat RARE luxury.

Well.. There's the option of having a pulpería, which is like an even smaller convenience store that is run from home and where they sell through a window.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulperia

The Spanish-language version of the page has more info.

Vibrant - adj - an area where customers of the nearby business pick neighboring properties to park cars and/or urinate, and where everyone must be quiet at all times lest they disturb "the peace". Often delineated by government and quasi-governmental agencies, which compete with each other as the the number of things they prohibit in the area.

Incidentally, "vibrant" does describe the seismic properties of California. We shall see what happens when this comes to fruition.

Funny - more than once, I've heard of malls closing in the last few years because people often prefer to order online.

They are, and the online ordering is part of it. But one local mall has gone thru a renovation in order to find a way to stay afloat. They added a live music venue, as well as living space. You can live in the mall.

And have a couple restaurants, coffee shops, and other conveniences in walking distance. An anchor tenant is the AMC theater, and now you can not only order your tickets online, you can get reserved seating in comfy recliners. They also have a liquor license, and dispense booze.

I won't say this is the future, but it seems workable.

One thing that would make the thing that Amy talks about viable would be more apartments so there are actually people living near shops. I know someone in that situation and it is great. But in places like Seattle they have zoned most of the city single-family homes only, so no apartments allowed, and in SF and LA there are people ready to sue if you block their view with a tall building as well as the zoning crap. So urban planners talk big about a walkable city but have rules that don't let it happen, and blame the people for being...deplorable.

"Funny - more than once, I've heard of malls closing in the last few years because people often prefer to order online."

Strip malls and shopping malls are very different things even though the names are similar. Think small stores, ex. a thai food place, liquor store, and a tax place right next to each other.

Shopping malls are struggling, but I don't know how much the online preference is really driving it. I've certainly heard that argument. But when I talk to people and look around it doesn't seem to fit right. My sister orders a lot from Amazon. Her main thing seems to be time. She can queue things up at odd hours and can skip the drive to the store. Price isn't a factor for her but taking the time to do the shopping is an issue. I know others who are price focused. The main difference there is 'tech' companies are better at avoiding federal taxes (not sales taxes). Personally I buy online when I can't find things locally. There are two places online that dominate the electronics parts fields. There isn't anything even close to their selection locally. Superwalmart vs. highway fruit stand type of difference. So I don't know what is really driving the shift to online retail.

Think small stores, [e.g.,] a thai food place, liquor store, and a tax place right next to each other. ~ Ben at July 18, 2018 4:35 PM

As long as there is money to be laundered, there will be strip malls with transactional, cash-based businesses.

There's a new development near here. You'd think it was channeling faux old Europe. Retail on the ground floor and two stories of condos above. Street is narrow and the parking sucks. But you can walk to the realtor's office. And the bank. Presuming it's your bank. Couple of restaurants living above which could be problematic. Presuming I could have found a parking place on that street, it would have been about a 90% chance further from my destination, whichever it was, than the conventional arrangements. And it would be parallel parking which people would prefer to avoid.
Great idea when presented to a zoning board or a bunch of investors. I expect revenues will decrease as rents are reduced to keep current tenants or attract replacements.

Most of them deal almost solely in credit Conan.

My school town has a great old downtown that's seriously hammered by the big box stores.

But the old guard is dying off and the new city council is revitalizing everything, bringing in hip eateries, and looking at a no-cars policy for the main drag - parking a half block behind the stores, free of course.

Keeping my fingers crossed they pull it off...

Most of them deal almost solely in credit Conan. ~ Ben at July 18, 2018 6:42 PM

And the crooked ones launder an amazing amount of cash, Ben.

Although money laundering is going high-tech, there's still a lot of it done in businesses like laundromats, dry cleaners, nail salons, hair salons, and other businesses that deal in large numbers of small transactions.

I can agree with that Conan. But most of the shops in strip malls are not laundering money. And an amazing percentage of people have zero cash in their pockets. If you want to be in retail these days you have to take credit.