Now that I’ve finally gotten my computer repaired (and my hard drive replaced), I can prepare American Dirt for a variety of great new posts. But my latest is in a format new to me: the podcast. I met with Aaron Renn over at The Urbanophile last week, where we had an extensive conversation about
At a primary intersection in the weather-beaten downtown of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, I came across this little row of storefronts.Truth be told, the photo is deceptive. I positioned the camera so that the street rests in the center, only to conceal what is going on at the periphery. Perhaps the reader/viewer can already tell, but
In many American cities, the most prominent murals emerge on the blank sidewalls of old buildings, often through months (if not years) of well-calibrated civic collaboration. Philadelphia, the national—and perhaps the global—leader in this art form has its own long-established Mural Arts Program, a well-staffed organization that not only vets the content and creators of
The news over the past few months that Sears Holdings Company is closing a slew (over seventy) of its two primary chains (Sears and Kmart) should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog…or anyone with a pulse, for that matter. I’ve rung the death knell on this formerly legendary budget department store
In a nation where the supply of potential retail space is so excessive that it hobbles the commercial landscape it intends to serve, a vacant storefront often remains vacant for a very long time. Only in the healthiest, most sought-after retail districts does the leasable space absorb quickly. In larger structures with the capacity for
Some businesses just fail to quit, though it’s not necessarily from lack of trying. And if all the negatives in that sentence dilute the denotation, that might be the whole point…at least when the businesses in question are former retail leviathans like Kmart and Sears. I’ve written about both chains many times in the past
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth century that one could claim it was wiped off the face of the earth. Huge swathes of what were once densely settled
It’s a topic I can rarely avoid for long: the ups and downs of the American retail landscape. Originally, I had planned to combine this essay with the previous one, on the aged Venture department store in a tired community not far from East Saint Louis. Then I realized that, while not a meaty topic
In the world’s most overbuilt nation for retail space, any outside influence can induce an infinitesimal change that nonetheless completely transforms the landscape for commerce. The retailers who continue to succeed in this economy—particularly impressive given the growing portent of online shopping’s eventual dominance—help shed light on what type of structures/milieus they are seeking to
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental shift in typology, akin to what transpired in the 1950s and 60s when pedestrian-scaled downtowns lost all their commerce to suburban strip
Now that I’ve finally gotten my computer repaired (and my hard drive replaced), I can prepare American Dirt for a variety of great new posts. But my latest is in a format new
At a primary intersection in the weather-beaten downtown of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, I came across this little row of storefronts.Truth be told, the photo is deceptive. I positioned the camera so that the
In many American cities, the most prominent murals emerge on the blank sidewalls of old buildings, often through months (if not years) of well-calibrated civic collaboration. Philadelphia, the national—and perhaps the global—leader in
The news over the past few months that Sears Holdings Company is closing a slew (over seventy) of its two primary chains (Sears and Kmart) should come as no surprise to anyone who
In a nation where the supply of potential retail space is so excessive that it hobbles the commercial landscape it intends to serve, a vacant storefront often remains vacant for a very long
Some businesses just fail to quit, though it’s not necessarily from lack of trying. And if all the negatives in that sentence dilute the denotation, that might be the whole point…at least when
In the most decentralized of American cities, much of the urban fabric that prospered until at least the Great Depression (if not later) suffered such devastation in the second half of the twentieth
It’s a topic I can rarely avoid for long: the ups and downs of the American retail landscape. Originally, I had planned to combine this essay with the previous one, on the aged
In the world’s most overbuilt nation for retail space, any outside influence can induce an infinitesimal change that nonetheless completely transforms the landscape for commerce. The retailers who continue to succeed in this
I’ve documented evolving retail trends with a keen eye over the past few years. Regardless of the size of the community, certain similar features have emerged that very well may augur a monumental