The demise of a beloved outdoors gear chain in Southern California suggests that no store is safe in America's high-priced cities.
"Any regular customer of A16’s flagship West Los Angeles store will attest to the primordial memories it invoked... A16 supplied Boy Scouts and dirtbags and weekend warriors for 59 years. I was in the latter category, at best, but I still loved it for what it evoked: the full embrace of California’s wilderness."
"We all know the reasons for the decline of retail, just like we all know the reasons behind climate change. The rise of online online shopping and big box retail, somewhat bafflingly, with rising commercial rents in many cities."
"A bookstore embodies the wisdom of books. An outdoors store embodies the sublimity of the outdoors. Customers feel something effable and priceless when they physically enter places that are appealing, enriching, and inexplicably personal--not unlike the way worshippers feel when they enter a church."
FULL STORY: Bidding Unhappy Trails to the Old Retail Landscape
Is There Space for Planning in Trump's News Cycle?
An analysis of Planetizen traffic in the first six months of the Trump Administration reveals an audience still focused, despite so many distractions, on the future of communities.
Recent Retail Closures in U.S. Cities Follow Trends Established Before the Pandemic
While some cling to debatable claims about higher crime rates as the cause for recent high-profile store closures in U.S. downtowns, the real reasons are more realistically extensions of the causes of the “retail apocalypse” from the before times.
The State of Commercial Corridors (And How to Protect Them During the Pandemic)
The pandemic is accelerating recent trends in commercial real estate with potentially catastrophic consequences for the commercial corridors that play such a fundamental role in the urban fabric.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research