Page 36 RAIN Summer 1986 channel, without the hazards and distractions of the present strip, where cars are constantly pulling in and out of traffic visual chaos confuses and pollutes the eye (see Peter Blake,'s God's Own Junkyard) and traffic lights impede traffic flow. The final stage in the redesign of the strip is a reduction in the number of vehicle lanes and a conversion of one . or more lanes to exclusive or light rail use. Once again, the key to more efficient transportation is achieving a density · / that can support it. - The suburban city embraces the automobile with exuA typical shopping mall is a town center separated from its community by a sea of parking. (FROM: Sustainable Communities) berance and the single-minded devotion of the truly religious. The resulting pattern is a linear horizontal grid that is diffuse and uniformly low-density and undifferentiated. As we shift from total reliance on the automobile to a greater mix of modes, the sprawl begins to coalesce into more distinct nodes .and neighborhoods, and the grid and s.urrounding land uses configure into a clearer hierarchy of density and function and pattern within the existing local fabric. In its complete transformation, the strip becomes a horizontal linear city of mix~d-user housing, community services, offices, shopping, and mdustry serving local 'consumer sheds' behind it, while efficient transit provi_des access to workplaces and other nodes of activity along its length. The Shopping Mall Another featLJre of the suburban city is the shopping mall. These centers-an innovation of the 195Qs-are designed to serve regional markets and always include several 'anchor' tenants: major national and regional department stores carrying a wide variety of merchandising. Around the anchors are other major tenants specializing in various kinds o! consumer hardware. Rounding out the center are local specialty shops and often a sprinkling of business and professional offices. The first malls sprang up around the new suburbs and ~ere designed .as a c~nvenient central alternative to city shoppmg areas, which typically were congested, and difficult to park in.- The malls quickly brought together ~ wide enough ~election of goods and services so that consumers could buy ma car-free, relaxed environment. The shopping mall became the closest thing to a town center for many suburbanites. Our strategy is to tum the mall into precisely that: a ~own c~nte~. The commercial heart is there; what is lacking 1s housmg improvement and a greater variety of activities to provide sufficient diversity. o o ©by Sim Van der Ryn and Peter Calthorpe
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