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Do urban areas really need a strong core?

Started by Revive 755, March 22, 2010, 03:18:11 PM

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mightyace

#25
^^^

The statement I made
Quotethose of you who hate the company
implies a fraction of the number of people.  I was not trying to label any individual with my perception of their opinion of Wal-Mart.

My whole points are simply:
1) Wal-Mart is one of the culprits, but not the only one.
2) The dying small town downtown was a trend independent of Wal-Mart or any other one retailer and would likely have happened whether Wal-Mart existed or not.

Again, pointing back to the example of my hometown of Bloomsburg, PA (see below), the downtown's relevance disappeared long before Wal-Mart appeared or people like me even knew Wal-Mart existed.  Bloomsburg's "independent" grocers were pretty much gone before Wal-Mart arrived and the locally owned regional chains of Weis Markets and Giant continue to thrive.

Quote from: mightyace on March 25, 2010, 08:40:40 PM
Downtown Bloomsburg, PA became irrelevant for everyday shopping long before Wal-Mart arrived in town.  In that area credit goes to KMart, Ames, Weis Markets, Giant, Sears, Penneys, Bon Ton, etc.

Or, the trend of businesses moving out of downtown areas has been happening for a long time, even before Wal-Mart was founded.  In some areas, Wal-Mart has lead the trend, in others, like my hometown, it was a latecomer.  In any case, it probably would have happened even without Wal-Mart
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!


bugo

But Walmart has been the guilty party in many downtown collapses.  They're not the only company that has ruined downtowns and mom and pop grocers, but they're the most visible.

mightyace

Quote from: bugo on March 26, 2010, 08:50:13 PM
But Walmart has been the guilty party in many downtown collapses.  They're not the only company that has ruined downtowns and mom and pop grocers, but they're the most visible.

I don't try to "blame" one company or another for simply taking advantage of a national trend.

Shopping downtown:
Limited poorly accessible parking that you have to pay for.
Small Stores.
Having to visit many stores to get everything you need.
Poor hours.  (Many downtown store close anywhere from 5pm to 9pm)
Small stores means higher prices.

Shopping center/mall outside of downtown:
Ample easily accessible parking that is FREE!
Large stores.
You can often get what you need by visiting one store or less than downtown.
Better hours. (Generally, shopping plaza stores start closing at 7pm, though most close at 9pm and some are open to 10 or 11 if not open 24 hours.
Lower prices.

Now, I have not mentioned service as IMHO it sucks everywhere so why pay for alleged service downtown when I can go to the shopping center stores who make no pretension about service.
My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyace

I'm out of this F***KING PLACE!

Truvelo

Mightyace, your comparison between downtown and out of town is very true over here as well. Parking is what seems to be killing many town centres over here, particularly the smaller towns where most people stop for short durations to visit convenience stores or dollar stores. People who visit these types of stores aren't prepared to pay to park there. With pay and display type parking the time on the ticket also lets potential thieves and car criminals know how long they have before the owner returns to the vehicle.
Speed limits limit life



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