Programmatic Shifts

The Urbanism Next Center at the University of Oregon, in partnership with Alta Planning + Design, Spirit for Change, and Metro hosted the Future of Public Spaces and Placemaking workshop on January 24th, 2020. This one-day workshop, supported by the Knight Foundation, brought together a wide range of community activists, government officials, policymakers, urbanists, planners, designers, technology representatives, and other professionals to share ideas and concerns, and to discuss emerging technologies such as new mobility, Mobility as a Service (MaaS), autonomous vehicles (AVs), and e-commerce, and their impacts on urban space and placemaking. The workshop concluded with a site-specific charrette aimed at investigating how communities can best prepare for these changes and adapt their public spaces to create places that are resilient, dynamic, equitable, and sustainable.

Nordstrom plans to open smaller stores in dense urban areas that have no inventory and instead have experiences and services such as a seamstress, a nail salon and a bar.

As parking demand declines, some developers and designers are thinking about the long term uses of parking garages and designing them to be able to adapt to changing future land use needs.

An increasing number of architects, developers, and engineers are designing new parking garages that can be converted into other uses in the future if needed.

Gas stations can be tricky sites to redevelop because they are often contaminated. However, developers around New York have recognized the potential in their often desirable locations and converted them into a variety of uses such as shops, offices, housing and places for generating renewable energy.

“Using the number of square feet leased in similar center types, data shows a cyclic shift from more traditional tenants – such as apparel – to necessity-based and experiential tenants.”

Many developers are trying to keep their malls relevant as traditional big-box retailers announce store closures. This articles highlights five examples of malls around the U.S. that have plans to reinvent themselves as mixed use and experiential destinations.

Many traditional malls have come up with creative ways to transform themselves to stay relevant in the 21st century and maintain sources of revenue as store closures rise. The typical malls with large atriums, department stores, food courts, and parking lots are finding new uses for these spaces including fitness centers, apartments, event spaces, markets, and mini theme parks.

Traditionally massive big box store retailers like Target and Dollar General are opening smaller versions of their stores in urban areas and college campuses to bring in new customers that were previously too far away from their bigger suburban stores.

A smaller, “planning studio” style Ikea store is opening in Manhattan. This downtown NYC version acts solely as a showroom, without the warehouse of build-it-yourself products.

The article describes the trend of mall development strategy and how the now model of development is integrated into the new lifestyle and space of community.

A new era of shopping centers is upon us. They’re beginning to look and function less like traditional malls and more like lifestyle centers with a strong community vibe.

In the first year since Amazon bought Whole Foods, two large grocers are already beginning to suffer and make drastic cuts.

Amazon can now be used for housing - a build-you-own tiny house kit is available online for $7,250.

Nordstrom has officially opened its first store without inventory, testing a new format for the department store chain called Nordstrom Local.

Food delivery apps are reshaping the restaurant industry—and how we eat—by inspiring digital-only establishments that don’t need a dining room or waiters.

As retail went digital, the idea was, physical space would become redundant. But while pivoting to a new digital paradigm hasn’t been easy, the retail industry’s ability to adapt has been notable and impressive. In fact, as cities grow and new hordes of consumers flock to establish themselves in urban communities, opportunities for innovation are emerging that suggest brick-and-mortar may be the pillar of a new retail era." This article primarily talks about the urbanization and the consumer, and the rebirth of brick-and-mortar.

We are long past the point of discussing how technology has interrupted our lives and changed our perspective of the world. We are now in the post-disruption era, and in many sectors including retail, a new normal is emerging. We are seeing that the most successful retailers are using both online and offline approaches. The key is the critical balance between the efficiency of online with the engagement of offline.