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• <br /> .. e r fit= <br /> s� <br /> air, <br /> taI:iSh Pulse Nodes /7r . <br /> 4 4. <br /> .,4,,..,„: , * , Development § p .._ <br /> , -., <br /> ,;::,:$ , , <br /> ,......1., 0,.. , 1 i <br /> The suburban strip has become the main street of shopping for most Ameri- <br /> cans because of its easy access to middle-class markets, its high visibility, its <br /> convenient parking, and its adaptability to large retail formats. However, strips <br /> face an enormous challenge as they try to maintain their economic vitality in a <br /> retail world now demanding environments that strips do not provide. <br /> The typical suburban strip today consists of mile after mile <br /> ' of repetitive, indistinguishable retail landscape. As a rule, <br /> ' • ' `"t, 7__. the architecture is nondescript, with little concern for design <br /> urt "• " features or cohesiveness, and it is scaled to be appreciated <br /> _ •. ° at automobile speeds. The strip reflects little, if anything, <br /> 1"O • "�" `� about the historyor culture of the place where it is located. <br /> a <br /> •..4 -+ . ,,.. , '';• There is little hierarchy of space, land use, or form; and <br /> s •.,_ -gym - rarely is there a sense of place or community to which <br /> r !- people are drawn as more than consumers. The strip typi- <br /> ,« i' : : , - cally has become an elongated one-dimensional environ- <br /> .'i <br /> . , <br /> ;# . ". , ment, often looking much the same whether it is located <br /> `` . in different parts of a metropolitan area or in different <br /> cities altogether. <br /> This is not the new face of retailing, and it puts suburban strips at risk. To <br /> restructure the retail strip environment to overcome these market negatives, <br /> "pulses" of development must be created along the length of the strip. These <br /> peak nodes of high-intensity, mixed-use residential and commercial development <br /> should be interspersed with stretches of low-intensity land uses or open space. <br /> IP <br /> p <br /> z , <br /> III III <br /> 0 - - a • <br /> I, • <br /> • Ji <br /> 3 � <br /> ' J <br /> Y <br /> F <br /> K <br /> 10 <br />