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This Oughta Be Good

News & Issues > It's Not Urban Sprawl
 

It's Not Urban Sprawl

Out in Las Vegas, on the west side of town, next to the lovely Red Rock Scenic Area, a new shopping mall is nearing completion.

image

Instead of the traditional indoor mall look, it is laid out in a grid pattern resembling city blocks and there will be office space as well as retail sales and restaurants. The plan is to add large office buildings around it to attract large companies and bring business other than gambling to Las Vegas. Condos and apartments will be added, as well as hope for a 'triple A baseball stadium smack in the center.'

But this isn't suburban sprawl. Nope, it's called an Edge City.

This is how it is described:

Edge City:
"The textbook definition includes at least 5 million square feet of Class A office space and 600,000 square feet of retail. Edge cities also have more jobs than bedrooms. They’re viewed by residents as a distinct place, and they were empty tracts of land 30 years ago.

But that basic concept is deceptively sophisticated: Edge cities are actually “the biggest revolution in 150 years in how we build cities,” said Garreau, the Lincoln professor of law, culture and values at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, and a Future Tense Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington. “Cities have been cradles of civilization for 8,000 years. So if we redefine how and where cities are created, we’re redefining who we are, how we got that way, where we’re headed and what makes us tick.”

But what about all those other 'edge cities' aka 'The Suburbs' built around strip malls and central shopping malls that have flourished, peaked and languished into ghost towns over the past 60 years? Calling it something else and declaring it innovative doesn't mean that it is.

posted on June 1, 2014 8:09 AM ()

Comments:

They can keep it. Hopefully I'll never live near a city again.
comment by jjoohhnn on June 2, 2014 5:37 PM ()
I've seen malls that work and the ones that are like miniature villages are the most attractive. The nicest in Fort Myers is The Bell Tower, and it is a destination for date night because of its restaurants and outdoor tables. But it is not surrounded by high rise office towers. It's tallest structure is perhaps two stories. I am not confident this new trend is a plus.
comment by tealstar on June 2, 2014 8:09 AM ()
Ah Vegas... I doubt I'll ever think of it as more than a gambling heaven...
comment by kristilyn3 on June 2, 2014 5:17 AM ()
That's been the 'shopping plaza' pattern here for years, outdoor shops and restaurants, arranged in little city blocks with streets, sidewalks and all the look of the old downtowns.
comment by jondude on June 2, 2014 5:03 AM ()
We have a huge empty mall that contains one Sears store and Life Church, it
is like a ghost town and this doesn't sound much different.
comment by elderjane on June 2, 2014 4:31 AM ()
Very interesting, but I wont be around in 60 years to see the results
comment by larryb on June 1, 2014 6:12 PM ()
The more things change the more they stay the stay!
comment by greatmartin on June 1, 2014 8:51 AM ()

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