The future of big box stores depends crucially on decisions and facts about land-use, environmental taxes, technology, and population migration trends. Specific stores will fail or thrive depending on the health and choices of the community within which they are embedded.
Read MoreAlthough it’s tempting to picture packing up and leaving suburbia to peacefully degrade, we shouldn’t. We'd be missing out on the unique opportunities it provides.
Read MoreFor years, we’ve been told that big box parking lots need to be large enough to accommodate peak parking demand. Yet even on the biggest shopping day of the year, I found oceans of empty asphalt.
Read MoreWhile the landscape of Westland remains predominantly suburban, projects like this are steps toward upcycling and intensifying obsolete developments: an important shift from our historical habits of build-and-abandon.
Read MoreBig box stores are not the enemy; they are the natural byproduct of our suburban development pattern. It's in everyone's best interest to find economically viable ways to make that land more productive.
Read MoreHow does a store with a small footprint, few choices and well-paid employees attract so many enthusiastic customers and sell twice as much per square foot as Whole Foods?
Read MoreSuburbia cannot and will not be retrofitted to a substantially different model of development. But a small portion may be salvageable.
Read MoreGreat design can meet multiple interests. That was the case for this urban big box store which balanced the needs of a large-scale retailer with the surrounding walkable, mixed-use neighborhood.
Read MoreLet's take a look at how big-box stores have adapted to the urban environment of New York City.
Read MoreStacy Mitchell, researcher and author of Big Box Swindle, discusses the origins of the big box store, the way they're subsidized by communities and how they are undercutting the American middle class.
Read MoreBuilding after massive building now sit empty in towns across America. Yours is up next.
Read MoreThe vast majority of suburban big box stores are not going to be retrofitted. They’re simply too far from anything of note and littered in unproductive locations across the country. But there may be a few exceptions...
Read MoreCities that tethered their future to this experiment are going to struggle while those that still have a pulse in their core neighborhoods will have a chance at renewed prosperity.
Read MoreFrequently hailed as a shining example of a successful big box retrofit, the McAllen Main Library is a fantastic space. But is it a realistic model for retrofits across the country?
Read MoreIn Austin, MN an old K-Mart was transformed into a popular museum—a big box reuse success! Or was it?
Read MoreWe treat big box stores as mines to be filled up and exhausted. Once depleted, we move on to design and build the next bigger mine, abandoning the former.
Read MoreWe want you to contribute to a comprehensive, crowdsourced database that will examine tax productivity comparing big box stores like Walmart with compact, downtown buildings. We’re working closely with our friends at Urban3 on this to build a downloadable resource and map the data when we're done.
Read MoreStrong Towns kicks off Big Box Week, looking at the promises cities make and the risks they take when a new big box store goes in.
Read MoreNot only do small downtown shops provide a higher rate of tax revenue than big box stores; they're also a much lower risk investment for the community.
Read MoreA basic look at financial productivity applied to the Iron Range community of Grand Rapids.
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