Big Box
Could Your Next Tomato Come From A Former Best Buy?
Gene Fredericks wants to turn empty big box stores into hydroponic and aquaponic growing centers using the latest technologies.
Big Box Casino On Its Way To Philadelphia
The new casino rising along Philadelphia's Delaware River is likely to be little more than a drab Big Box with gambling inside, according to this review from Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.
A Win for WalMart
A pro-smart growth group in Lockport, NY attempted to stop a WalMart Supercenter from being built in their town, but the state supreme court rejected their appeal.
End of the Big Box Era
In Birmingham, Alabama, developers are seeing a lot of empty big box and anchor retail spaces, while smaller, neighborhood centers are actually seeing an increase in occupancy.
Big Box Exit Spells Trouble for Local Economy
In Dublin, CA, the failure of a slew of big box retailers has created retail deadzones, dragging down local businesses and economies.
New Jersey: It’s Like Ohio, But Even More So
The second semester in planning school at Penn is defined by a major project in which students are broken into groups, given a problem region, and tasked with, in the space of three months, coming up with a plan comparable to what professionals do in 12 to 18 months. Over those three months, the students get intimate with their designated locale, exploring every nook, cranny and underused land parcel. Helloooooooooo, Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There’s an old John Gorka song called “I’m From New Jersey.” It goes, “I’m from New Jersey/ It’s like Ohio/ But even more so/ Imagine that.” I’d bet good green cash he was driving down Route 70 when he wrote that.
You Can't Teach A Big Box New Tricks
A Home Depot Expo in Charlotte, NC, is closing. Mary Newsom explains that the real problem with big boxes like this is that they don't make sense over time.
Big Box Breakthrough in Charlotte
Lofts and ground floor retail envelop a new Lowe's store in Charlotte, forming a buffer between the large store and the surrounding Dilworth neighborhood.
Reusing Empty Big Boxes
Sometimes big box retailers get too big for the boxes they're in. So they move. What's left behind are huge empty buildings -- and opportunities for re-use.
Urban Supermarkets, Suburban Designs
Supermarkets are moving back to urban areas like Philadelphia. But their big box designs are decidedly un-urban, according to architecture critic Inga Saffron, who calls for more relevant urban designs.
Big Boxes Heading Downtown
With growth controls making suburban properties less attractive and wealth becoming concentrated in older centres, Canada's big box retailers are looking downtown for new locations.
Something New Inside Failed Big Boxes
When big boxes go under, they leave big holes. Communities across America are coming up with some creative ways to reuse the huge spaces left behind when big box retailers move out.
Watch WalMart Spread Across the American Landscape
Flowing Data used zip codes and other data to create an animated map showing the growth of WalMart from the first store in Arkansas in 1962 until today, when the map is covered with stores.
'Alarming' Increases In Shopping Center Vacancies
Empty retail space increased dramatically over the last six months, according to data compiled by commercial real estate brokers and investment advisors.
Big Box on a Diet
Big box stores are following their customers into downtowns, and stores like Circuit City and Target are retooling for density.
Best Buy Refuses to Conform to Design Standards
Waynesville, North Carolina Mayor Gavin Brown is forced to give up on pedestrian-friendly design to save potential jobs from Best Buy.
Big Box Thinking When Siting Schools is Creating Sprawl
New schools are consistently built far from community centers, while historic school buildings near where people live are demolished, The Blue Ridge Press reports.
Coping With Vacant Big Boxes
To deal with the problem of vacant big-box stores that have proliferated across the country, one Milwaukee suburb is levying a fee on developers to help pay for demolition. Other cities are exploring similar options.
New Orleans Small Business Rising from the Ruins
As proposals for big-box retail projects mount in New Orleans, many small business owners who are returning to the city worry about the coming competition. A documentary is currently being filmed about the recovering city's business atmosphere.
Encouraging Mixed-Use Big Box Retail
By requiring a minimum height of at least two stories, cities could force big boxes to redesign their buildings into more urban friendly forms.
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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.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
