Cox Crow

The Aerial Spotter's Guide to Civilian Installations

Window Seat: Reading the Landscape from the Air looks like a good companion to A Field Guide to Sprawl. [WindowSeat, via BoingBoing]

2:53:13 PM # Google It!

Retail Hypothesis

I have a hypothesis.

Enclosed malls beat strip malls because they are more convenient. The shopper is able to move freely between stores, exploring options and making numerous purchases, before returning to his wagon and carting the goods home. They beat downtown shops because they are closer to the shopper and parking is free.

Wal-Mart beats downtown shops and stores in strip malls — and eats into the revenue of enclosed malls — because it is more convenient. The store has a wide selection of a wide variety of goods. It is closer to the shopper, parking is free, and the customer only has to pay once.

So, how do you beat Wal-Mart?

You can't beat them on prices, because you don't have leverage. You can contend on design and quality, all other things being equal. You differentiate yourself.

More generically, how do you compete against huge retailers? You have to be more convenient.

• Move closer to the customer.
• Make parking a non-issue.
• Simplify payment.
• Eliminate the need for another trip.

10:37:11 AM # Google It!
categories: Place

Color-Coding the States

Stephen Dulaney points to the Wall Street Journal's poll and map of battleground States in the up-coming election. [via Blogging Alone]

Isn't it handy how the simple majority calculation of Electoral representation makes the math so much simpler?

9:53:01 AM # Google It!

There Are No States' Rights

Peter St. Andre looks at two of my favorite amendments and observes that people have rights, not States.

9:59:27 AM # Google It!
categories: Law

Patterson Crossing Improvements

The Patterson Chamber of Commerce petition in favor of Patterson Crossing is on-line. They outline the reasons for their support of the project, and provide a graphic of the site plan.

The stores are typical big boxes. But they don't have to be.

What kind of character does Patterson want? What kind of place will Kent become?

This topographic map gives a broad overview of the area, while this one shows its close proximity to a relatively dense neighborhood. If I were a homeowner in that neighborhood, I would not like to have those big boxes over my back fence. But I would not mind a mixed-use commercial district within walking distance: one where I could find the groceries, dry goods, and sundries necessary to daily life. So here are a few thoughts on improving the Patterson Crossing site plan.

• Continue the streets from the neighborhoods into the property.
• Connect New York Route 311 on the north with Fair Street on the south, making a route through the property.
• Costco and Lowe's will attract customers from a wide radius, but what kind of shops do the neighbors need? Is your only competition Home Depot at the next exit east, or is it Danbury Mall, Jefferson Valley Mall, and the Wal-Mart in Fishkill? Meet the local needs of food, supplies, and general merchandise. That means a deli, hardware and clothes, not Best Buy.
• Increase the pedestrian connections between stores. This will increase the number of purchases made at all of the stores by reducing the need to re-enter the car. Returning to the car is incentive to stop shopping.
• Hide the parking.
• Follow the land.

11:12:48 PM # Google It!
categories: Place

For Sale by Owner

This 3 bedroom, 1 bath, ranch-style house, on a level half-acre in Mahopac, New York.

8:28:15 PM # Google It!
categories: Place

More to Read

AllConsuming found two interesting books, and interesting posts, the other day. First, Kent, of Trolling in Shallow Water points out FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression in a discussion of a centralizing tendency on the left-hand-side of the political aisle. He also quotes an interesting practice in the funding of New Zealand's schools.

Aaron Shafovaloff discusses the problem of Free Will and Election — an important question even if you're not ready for the Rapture — and links to, among other things, Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election.

6:37:45 PM # Google It!

There Goes the Neighborhood

What's wrong with clotheslines? [via PLANetizen]

12:13:48 PM # Google It!
categories: Place

What if ...

... instead of building housing developments, we built small towns?

11:58:54 AM # Google It!
categories: Place