The word from the shopping center industry

The word from the shopping center industry is that the “Main Street” model for retail development is here to stay. A recent article in the trade magazine Shopping Center World, suggests a groundswell of support for the trend among public officials. “ Main Street USA is sweeping the country and is not just another passing fad or trend,” the article states. Entertainment venues have been successfully integrated into many revitalization projects, but the magazine notes that it is the full mix of retail, residential, and workplace uses that makes the Main Street model so attractive for many communities. According to the article, public officials are beginning to exert more control over the retail development process. Recently, the New Orleans City Council unanimously approved a set of regulations that force big box retailers to conform to human-scale design principles. The regulations require pedestrian amenities and extensive landscaping and prohibit long, blank walls facing the street. An impetus for the new law was the city’s recent battle with a national supermarket chain over the size of a store planned for a historic, residential neighborhood.