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` ^ <br /> 0 .�,. <br /> ,��- � <br /> mentation, cong85tion, inconvenience, inefficiency, USterk}rat|nn, and visual <br /> blight. Created in a generally laissez-faire environment well suited to the first- <br /> ganonation' low-density scale of postwar suburbia, they are no longer suited to <br /> the denser, more complex urban context of metropolitan America. While a single <br /> automobile-oriented shopping center is easily accessible, dozens lined along the <br /> same suburban arterial are not. Consumers continue to shop there, of course, but <br /> in the coming years, increasing choices will undoubtedly force majorchanges in <br /> the strip environment if they are to retain their competitive position and eco- <br /> nomic vitality. <br /> Already the new face of retailing is beginning to change the how, when, where, <br /> and why of shopping, which will have profound implications for suburban strips. <br /> Today's consumers have unprecedented options- and these options continue to <br /> increase, not only in shopping centers and stand-alone stores but also in spe- <br /> cialized |Vcations, including resurgent downtowns and suburban downtowns, new <br /> centers,wn mixed-use deve|opments, streetfront shopping, transit stops, train <br /> ilii <br /> tions and airports; <br /> off-price entertainment megamalls; and historic, cultural,sports, and entertainment districts. A common thread running through many of <br /> these options reflects an increasing connectivity to other aspects of daily life; a <br /> mix of activities; a stronger sense of community; and more attention to the <br /> anvinonment, the experience, and the enjoyment of shopping. <br /> The, <br /> m <br /> ' ye ohe' mn��t\� <br /> er|s' <br /> - <br /> . n <br /> idlimmjniu, , _ <br /> ' <br /> ~ ,� ~ .I <br /> I <br /> are in tune with what today's consumers are looking for but not finding in <br /> most suburban strips.TheodvgOtofnOnStone shopping ^/-` - ^ 'the Internet, which offers con- ^ <br /> through <br /> venience, competitiveprices, and <br /> wide selection of merchandise, inoroao <br /> eythe pressure even more for changes " ` <br /> II <br /> /�int� s�ip ��mn�� si�et� S�p ~ �iL ' ` ' �� � ' <br /> "/^ � �� ~ ~ . <br /> has offered these same �enants - ' � /:1� , ^although �`less efficiently. , " i o ^ . <br /> built market, increasingly populated by --"le_ '' . _ ^ ....az--7--;7 + <br /> sophisticated shoppers with better ) '"^ <br /> options, the competitive position of " <br /> strip centers will graduallybaeuoUad - <br /> less there issignificant rethinking <br /> -0 <br /> their role, a repositioning of their <br /> fer|ngs and a restructuring of their �-ft�r . _'''- <br /> layoutto reflect the more ~. ' m <br /> physical � . < <br /> ..,%, . <br /> m <br /> NI <br /> 1 <br />