Urban Eola

Suburban city centers

Winter Springs (FL) Town Center - proposed

The suburbs piss me off. I grew up in one, and they have many positives, but for the most part suburbs lack the cultural flair, walkablity, well-planned layout, and 24/7 action that cities have.

With that being said, I read an interesting article today about how suburbs are clamoring for town centers -- mini urban areas in the middle of suburbs. Here's some quotes from the article.

Suburban cities where downtowns never naturally evolved are working with developers to mold what they hope will become vibrant town centers.

Even within larger cities, developers are creating commercial centers as a focal point within their communities.

The idea touted behind these places: Live, work and play all in one spot. It's the exact opposite of the type of planning -- or lack of it -- that resulted in suburban sprawl.

The key, experts say, is to strike a balance -- not offer more retail than the market can handle and bring in other attractions, from movie theaters to parks to libraries, that will give people something to do other than shop.

Labels: , ,


posted by Michael Tavani @ 6:25 PM |

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home



<< view more posts

Sponsored by:


Urban Eola is:

Archives

Headquarters

Get Firefox