The Urban Land Institute recommends commercial strip centers be retrofitted

The Urban Land Institute, whose members consist of the developers who have built suburbia in the last six decades, now recommends that conventional strip centers be converted to urban places. The “reinvention” of commercial strip development can take place through “mixed-use development that is pedestrian-friendly, open to bordering neighborhoods and served by roads that connect, rather than divide, the entire project,” ULI states. The ULI offers the following principles for improving suburban strip development: 1) Ignite the public leadership of the area and nurture public/private cooperation, using a marketing plan that fosters communication between all parties, including area residents. 2) Anticipate evolution of the market, in terms of demographic demand and changes in the retail sector. 3) Know the market well enough to properly plan for revitalization covering short- and long-term needs. 4) Prune the retail-zoned land. A surplus of retail-zoned land makes it easy to simply abandon existing structures and build others, contributing to sprawl. 5) “Pulse” the development, creating specific focal points for intense development connected by less densely developed areas or by open space. 6) Tame traffic, using roads as seams to connect various portions of the development, and providing pedestrian routes that minimize conflict with traffic. If possible, try to avoid using roads as edges that divide development and encourage faster driving speeds. 7) Create a place, or a sense of community that is appealing from a variety of perspectives., including safety, comfort, dining, and physical attractiveness. 8) Diversify the character of the development, providing a variety of uses beyond retail. 9) Eradicate ugliness by focusing on wide median strips with mature trees, ample lighting and well-landscaped parking areas. 10) (For public officials) Put your money and regulations where your policy is, with zoning that complements, rather than inhibits, development strategies, and by leveraging public investments such as government offices or post offices into larger-scale, mixed-use developments.