<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for A shopping mall becomes a city]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by Jon Rynn http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:01:25 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/1 I believe that this is an example of "in-filling", basically turning a suburb into something resembling a town.  In my humble opinion, this is the only way suburbs will be saved in an oil-constrained future -- with rail connecting it to cities, with residences mixed in ("mixed-use") with commercial, and with stores that people need in order to live -- I didn't see any reference to supermarkets in Tyson's corner; supermarkets in my opinion are the absolute minimum for making an area walkable.  With enough commercial in there, people close to Tyson's corner could even drive in all-electric cars that are currently available (in othe words, souped-up golf carts).  Although I thought I read thhat the orange liine might not make it there -- is that true?

]]> I believe that this is an example of "in-filling", basically turning a suburb into something resembling a town.  In my humble opinion, this is the only way suburbs will be saved in an oil-constrained future -- with rail connecting it to cities, with residences mixed in ("mixed-use") with commercial, and with stores that people need in order to live -- I didn't see any reference to supermarkets in Tyson's corner; supermarkets in my opinion are the absolute minimum for making an area walkable.  With enough commercial in there, people close to Tyson's corner could even drive in all-electric cars that are currently available (in othe words, souped-up golf carts).  Although I thought I read thhat the orange liine might not make it there -- is that true?

]]> Comment #2 by onlive http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/ Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:35:16 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/2 Down here in southwest florida, malls are dying out while outdoor malls are flourishing.  Of course these only work in climates where it is warm all year round.

]]> Down here in southwest florida, malls are dying out while outdoor malls are flourishing.  Of course these only work in climates where it is warm all year round.

]]> Comment #3 by webster http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/ Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:58:32 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/3 OnEarth magazine also had an article on this very same subject in Summer 2008. Check out "The De-Malling of America" here: http://www.onearth.org/article/the-de-malling-of-america

]]> OnEarth magazine also had an article on this very same subject in Summer 2008. Check out "The De-Malling of America" here: http://www.onearth.org/article/the-de-malling-of-america

]]> Comment #4 by Noah Pollock http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/ Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:25:35 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/2009-04-15-radiant-cities-mallternatives/4 The demise of "The Mall" gives me a guilty pleasure. I am convinced, as a student of ecological economics (http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/ecological_economics) that for the last fifty years our nation has invested way too much energy into built capital geared largely at increased consumption. We have been above the point of "retail saturation" for way to long. The only way forward for development is a balanced one, where social, human, and natural capital is just as important as built capital. Across the country, for example, we are seeing a resurgence in farmers markets, which humanize the exchange of goods and services.

While I'm skeptical of overly engineered systems- such as the mall mentioned in this article - it is a step in the right direction in balancing the four types of capitals we talk about here the Institute for Global Sustainability (http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/).  Housed at the University of Vermont, Instite facility, such as ecological designer John Todd, are beginning to teach courses helping students come up with creative solutions to similar design problems. (Learn more at http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/ecological_design). There is a lot of enthusiasm for this type of work!

 

]]> The demise of "The Mall" gives me a guilty pleasure. I am convinced, as a student of ecological economics (http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/ecological_economics) that for the last fifty years our nation has invested way too much energy into built capital geared largely at increased consumption. We have been above the point of "retail saturation" for way to long. The only way forward for development is a balanced one, where social, human, and natural capital is just as important as built capital. Across the country, for example, we are seeing a resurgence in farmers markets, which humanize the exchange of goods and services.

While I'm skeptical of overly engineered systems- such as the mall mentioned in this article - it is a step in the right direction in balancing the four types of capitals we talk about here the Institute for Global Sustainability (http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/).  Housed at the University of Vermont, Instite facility, such as ecological designer John Todd, are beginning to teach courses helping students come up with creative solutions to similar design problems. (Learn more at http://learn.uvm.edu/igs/ecological_design). There is a lot of enthusiasm for this type of work!

 

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