jks
Continuous Lurker
...are a bunch of strip malls!
Richmond Hill Yonge Line 1 North Subway Extension | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx
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adma
Superstar
Yet from a Jane Jacobey perspective, those strip-mall outliers may actually "work" better than Vaughan Mills itself--that is, as grassroots economy-generators, rather than big corporate behemoths...
Whoaccio
Senior Member
Thats why Jane Jacobs occupies the same economic space as Galbraith and Naomi Klein.
scarberiankhatru
Senior Member
I wasn't just thinking of malls...Chinatown is right on the Spadina streetcar, Yorkville is crawling with subway access, PATHesque shopping concourses envelop many stations, etc.
lordmandeep
Banned
also I think the high ridership during the day is due to the many tens of thousands of university students that commute from all around Toronto to Ryerson and UFT and other downtown campuses...
Most university students do not start class till 10am usually.
Most university students do not start class till 10am usually.
waterloowarrior
Senior Member
Good article in the recent OPPI Journal about strip malls.
September - October, 2008 Volume 23 Issue 5
Strip Malls: More Than Meets the Eye
Author: Orly Linovski
"Tenants have come and gone at the strip plaza on the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue, but one thing has stayed the same for at least two and a half decades: It looks like hell." As a reporter for the National Post wrote: strip malls look like hell. Not only do reporters think these areas are defined by their ugliness, but planners, councillors, and economic development staff have all echoed this sentiment. Strip malls have been described as "unkempt," "rundown" and "undesirable" or dismissed as "junk."
The City of Toronto has a vision for the strip malls that line many of our suburban arterials. Rather than surface parking and a jumble of signs, the Avenues Strategy promotes active pedestrian environments with mid-rise buildings lining the street. Although this is a seductive vision, no one seems to have considered the social costs associated with the loss of strip malls. After speaking with small business owners, I realized that strip malls play an important role in the city that is not acknowledged by current city policies.
Is the strip mall endangered?
Toronto's Official Plan conceptualizes major streets as Avenues—arterials that can support substantial intensification. I conducted an in-depth study of the existing Avenues Studies and how they treat strip malls. Many of the guidelines seem to equate the success of a place with its built form. There is no acknowledgement that some suburban arterials may be more important as social spaces than the visually appealing areas valued by the City.
As stated in Section 2.2.3 of the Official Plan: "Some of the Avenues already serve as ‘main streets' that are focal points for the community with attractive and bustling sidewalks . . . [These] will be a low priority for Avenue reurbanization studies . . . Avenues that are characterized by one or two storey commercial buildings, vacant and underutilized lands and large areas of surface parking will be priorities for future Avenue Studies."
This policy correlates the aesthetic quality of a place with its ability to serve as a focal point for community. Streets that may act as a community's centre are dismissed because their built form does not fit the city's vision. The implication that two-storey commercial buildings should have the same redevelopment potential as vacant lots disregards many of the social processes that take place in what are often considered unattractive places.
While the Avenues Studies are intended to provide site-specific guidelines for redevelopment, there is no analysis of important issues such as the economic viability of current uses and the social benefits of different types of space. It seems that the main indicator for redevelopment potential is parking lots in front of the buildings. A closer look at other factors may show that the advantages often found in unattractive buildings outweigh aesthetic considerations.
Are strip malls worth saving?
I examined three strip malls in different areas of Toronto and found that there are unique benefits to this type of built form not found elsewhere in the city. Despite the pressure to accommodate new residential development, the full social costs of encouraging the redevelopment of strip malls have not been thoroughly examined.
A strip mall on Wilson Avenue highlights some possible impacts. This 20-unit strip has a wide range of uses: inexpensive retail, food shops (Filipino, Jewish and European bakeries), hairdressers, and other specialty shops (plumbing supply, a glass/framing shop and a tailor). It also contains both religious and community uses—an Orthodox synagogue is located next to the Pizza Pizza franchise.
I asked the business owners and commercial tenants, "Why did you choose to locate here?" The responses were generally: "It was the only one I could afford," or "It was the only one that would rent to me" or "There was no other choice." The two unit-owners I interviewed stated that they had originally bought their unit because it was affordable and they were able to own instead of rent. For the unit-owners in the strip, relocation is not an option. They were more likely to close their business than relocate.
For business owners, finding retail space is not just a matter of affordability. One tenant was unable to rent space in an enclosed mall because of the leasing policies of management firms, which are reluctant to lease space to small, independent businesses and are concerned with ensuring a certain retail mix. Furthermore, major chains are often able to dictate leasing policy in centrally managed retail environments. [Editor's note: This explains why it is sometimes hard to determine which city you are in when you enter a "managed retail environment": the mix of tenants and even the locations are often identical.]
Strip malls also allow for ethnic specialization. Although the Avenues Strategy promotes redevelopment, uses in certain ethnic-oriented strip malls, such as the one located on Yonge Street, south of Steeles Avenue, are remarkably stable. This strip mall acts a centre for the Persian community and is considered a desirable location for Persian businesses. One owner explained: "We didn't consider any other location . . . we have to be in this location, because we are a Persian video store." In this sense, this strip mall is more like ethnic shopping streets in Chinatown than it is like other "automobile-oriented uses."
Strip malls cater to a sector of the retail market that may not be able to compete in other locations. Affordability, a unique management structure, and the ability to support very specialized businesses create an environment that allows independent businesses to flourish. Due to their somewhat marginal status, strip malls now contain a diversity of uses that add richness to the city.
Could strip mall uses move into mid-rise buildings?
Strip malls may be visually unappealing, but the space they provide for small and marginal businesses is difficult to replicate in other built forms. The zoning on Avenues may allow or even require ground-floor commercial units, yet these new spaces often have hidden barriers that keep certain businesses out. Whereas strip mall units developed in the 1960s and 1970s were often sold on a unit-by-unit basis (ten-unit strip malls with ten different owners are common), the retail space in mid-rise buildings is not developed in the same manner. Even if commercial space becomes more affordable as the building ages, condominium units still require a significant investment that may be beyond the means of small retailers. In some cases, condo boards would rather leave retail space unoccupied than sell to potentially problematic uses, such as a restaurant. With tenant selection tightly controlled, the diversity of strip malls is not found in mid-rise Avenues buildings.
Creating a beautiful city is an admirable goal for urban planners and designers. Aesthetically pleasing places are often what make a city memorable. However, we need to balance visual appeal and social equity. Policies should not be overly focused on aesthetics at the expense of allowing for diversity. It is necessary to get beyond the "strip-mall-as-eyesore" mentality to understand how strip malls operate and the crucial role that they play in the city. The protection of strip malls should be a priority for a city that prides itself on multiculturalism and equity.
•
In Praise of Strip Malls
One journalist specializing in urban issues who has written in praise of strip malls is Toronto-based writer, John Lorinc. In addition to articles on the subject published in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life, John contributed a chapter to the first edition of UTOpia, entitled "Stripping away stereotypes: Toronto's retail plazas," in which he argued that strip malls also perform an essential incubating function.
Orly Linovski is a Research Assistant at the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff, currently working on urban scale modeling. She graduated from the planning program at the University of Toronto in 2007. She can be reached at linovskio@Cardiff.ac.uk.
September - October, 2008 Volume 23 Issue 5
Strip Malls: More Than Meets the Eye
Author: Orly Linovski
"Tenants have come and gone at the strip plaza on the northwest corner of Bathurst Street and Wilson Avenue, but one thing has stayed the same for at least two and a half decades: It looks like hell." As a reporter for the National Post wrote: strip malls look like hell. Not only do reporters think these areas are defined by their ugliness, but planners, councillors, and economic development staff have all echoed this sentiment. Strip malls have been described as "unkempt," "rundown" and "undesirable" or dismissed as "junk."
The City of Toronto has a vision for the strip malls that line many of our suburban arterials. Rather than surface parking and a jumble of signs, the Avenues Strategy promotes active pedestrian environments with mid-rise buildings lining the street. Although this is a seductive vision, no one seems to have considered the social costs associated with the loss of strip malls. After speaking with small business owners, I realized that strip malls play an important role in the city that is not acknowledged by current city policies.
Is the strip mall endangered?
Toronto's Official Plan conceptualizes major streets as Avenues—arterials that can support substantial intensification. I conducted an in-depth study of the existing Avenues Studies and how they treat strip malls. Many of the guidelines seem to equate the success of a place with its built form. There is no acknowledgement that some suburban arterials may be more important as social spaces than the visually appealing areas valued by the City.
As stated in Section 2.2.3 of the Official Plan: "Some of the Avenues already serve as ‘main streets' that are focal points for the community with attractive and bustling sidewalks . . . [These] will be a low priority for Avenue reurbanization studies . . . Avenues that are characterized by one or two storey commercial buildings, vacant and underutilized lands and large areas of surface parking will be priorities for future Avenue Studies."
This policy correlates the aesthetic quality of a place with its ability to serve as a focal point for community. Streets that may act as a community's centre are dismissed because their built form does not fit the city's vision. The implication that two-storey commercial buildings should have the same redevelopment potential as vacant lots disregards many of the social processes that take place in what are often considered unattractive places.
While the Avenues Studies are intended to provide site-specific guidelines for redevelopment, there is no analysis of important issues such as the economic viability of current uses and the social benefits of different types of space. It seems that the main indicator for redevelopment potential is parking lots in front of the buildings. A closer look at other factors may show that the advantages often found in unattractive buildings outweigh aesthetic considerations.
Are strip malls worth saving?
I examined three strip malls in different areas of Toronto and found that there are unique benefits to this type of built form not found elsewhere in the city. Despite the pressure to accommodate new residential development, the full social costs of encouraging the redevelopment of strip malls have not been thoroughly examined.
A strip mall on Wilson Avenue highlights some possible impacts. This 20-unit strip has a wide range of uses: inexpensive retail, food shops (Filipino, Jewish and European bakeries), hairdressers, and other specialty shops (plumbing supply, a glass/framing shop and a tailor). It also contains both religious and community uses—an Orthodox synagogue is located next to the Pizza Pizza franchise.
I asked the business owners and commercial tenants, "Why did you choose to locate here?" The responses were generally: "It was the only one I could afford," or "It was the only one that would rent to me" or "There was no other choice." The two unit-owners I interviewed stated that they had originally bought their unit because it was affordable and they were able to own instead of rent. For the unit-owners in the strip, relocation is not an option. They were more likely to close their business than relocate.
For business owners, finding retail space is not just a matter of affordability. One tenant was unable to rent space in an enclosed mall because of the leasing policies of management firms, which are reluctant to lease space to small, independent businesses and are concerned with ensuring a certain retail mix. Furthermore, major chains are often able to dictate leasing policy in centrally managed retail environments. [Editor's note: This explains why it is sometimes hard to determine which city you are in when you enter a "managed retail environment": the mix of tenants and even the locations are often identical.]
Strip malls also allow for ethnic specialization. Although the Avenues Strategy promotes redevelopment, uses in certain ethnic-oriented strip malls, such as the one located on Yonge Street, south of Steeles Avenue, are remarkably stable. This strip mall acts a centre for the Persian community and is considered a desirable location for Persian businesses. One owner explained: "We didn't consider any other location . . . we have to be in this location, because we are a Persian video store." In this sense, this strip mall is more like ethnic shopping streets in Chinatown than it is like other "automobile-oriented uses."
Strip malls cater to a sector of the retail market that may not be able to compete in other locations. Affordability, a unique management structure, and the ability to support very specialized businesses create an environment that allows independent businesses to flourish. Due to their somewhat marginal status, strip malls now contain a diversity of uses that add richness to the city.
Could strip mall uses move into mid-rise buildings?
Strip malls may be visually unappealing, but the space they provide for small and marginal businesses is difficult to replicate in other built forms. The zoning on Avenues may allow or even require ground-floor commercial units, yet these new spaces often have hidden barriers that keep certain businesses out. Whereas strip mall units developed in the 1960s and 1970s were often sold on a unit-by-unit basis (ten-unit strip malls with ten different owners are common), the retail space in mid-rise buildings is not developed in the same manner. Even if commercial space becomes more affordable as the building ages, condominium units still require a significant investment that may be beyond the means of small retailers. In some cases, condo boards would rather leave retail space unoccupied than sell to potentially problematic uses, such as a restaurant. With tenant selection tightly controlled, the diversity of strip malls is not found in mid-rise Avenues buildings.
Creating a beautiful city is an admirable goal for urban planners and designers. Aesthetically pleasing places are often what make a city memorable. However, we need to balance visual appeal and social equity. Policies should not be overly focused on aesthetics at the expense of allowing for diversity. It is necessary to get beyond the "strip-mall-as-eyesore" mentality to understand how strip malls operate and the crucial role that they play in the city. The protection of strip malls should be a priority for a city that prides itself on multiculturalism and equity.
•
In Praise of Strip Malls
One journalist specializing in urban issues who has written in praise of strip malls is Toronto-based writer, John Lorinc. In addition to articles on the subject published in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Life, John contributed a chapter to the first edition of UTOpia, entitled "Stripping away stereotypes: Toronto's retail plazas," in which he argued that strip malls also perform an essential incubating function.
Orly Linovski is a Research Assistant at the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff, currently working on urban scale modeling. She graduated from the planning program at the University of Toronto in 2007. She can be reached at linovskio@Cardiff.ac.uk.
Last edited:
ShonTron
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Joe Schlesinger a few years ago did a profile of this very same strip mall strip at Wilson at Bathurst on the National. These can be fascinating businesses that establish themselves in these plazas.
adma
Superstar
Is there anything wrong with that? (Oh yeah, you call the Islanders "squatters".)
Whoaccio
Senior Member
As long as you are aware that their economic credentials are non existent, then no. It would be like quoting Mike Harris on modern art, to put it in terms you like.
nfitz
Superstar
Which is probably a sad commentary on the state of our universities these days. Seems to me, that year in, year out, it was Calculus at 8:30 AM Monday mornings (can't recall my attendance being all too regular though
)
CDL.TO
Moderator
I don't think Jane Jacobs was quite what you think she was. She had no problems with big business, she just supported an organic landscape where gentrification could occur naturally, ensuring low-cost locations for innovation and small business to occur.
I heard a story that she was giving a talk in the states, and during the Q&A period someone asked her about stopping Wal-Mart from moving into a community. She stated that she had no problems with Wal-Mart as long as it fit into the urban fabric.
lordmandeep
Banned
I am not certain but it appears that many more students these days are staying home with their parents and going to school. (I am one of them).
So with people mostly commuting, commuter based Universities have mostly moved classes latter into the day.
nfitz
Superstar
Another concern I have about society. Thinking about my university class of about 80 people, off-hand, I think I could count those who still lived at home on the fingers of one hand; possibly on two fingers of one-hand - but I've probably fogotten someone. I've heard horror stories of parents trying to contact Universities to discuss their child's progress - I mean can you believe it?
Whoaccio
Senior Member
I've got nothing against Jane Jacobs as an "urban theorist", but as an economist she is way off the mark. It is an annoying trend for social scientists, like Jacobs or Galbraith, to make the move into presenting themselves as economists. Or like Kunstler is now all of a sudden the world's expert on Peak Oil.
prosperegal
Senior Member
Why would parents do that? If their parents didn't contact schools when they were in university, what makes them think it's ok for them to do that? I don't know, I'm a little older than the current millennial generation (I consider myself a Cusper (born in 1979) - in between Gen X and Millennials) so I never had the "pleasant" experience of my parents calling my profs, and I really think it's weird.
Anyway, let's get back to our regularly scheduled program.