tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post1870769406523371382..comments2023-10-19T05:19:01.550-08:00Comments on American Dirt: Nudging the ‘urbs in the right direction.AmericanDirthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-70260412008121566192013-07-02T11:40:48.113-08:002013-07-02T11:40:48.113-08:00My guess is that if gas stations like that aren...My guess is that if gas stations like that aren't outright banned per code, then the process for getting them approved would be so onerous that they might just as well be banned anyway. Jeffrey Jakucykhttp://www.jjakucyk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-77415566158736657132013-07-01T16:56:35.196-08:002013-07-01T16:56:35.196-08:00Thanks again for the observations. Chris, I'm...Thanks again for the observations. Chris, I'm well familiar with the CVS/Walgreen pair that you're referencing--the Walgreens of the two is particularly new and fits their contemporary prototype that increasingly functions as a mini-grocery store and drugstore. The previous location of the Walgreen was at the NE corner of that intersection as the "anchor" to a small strip mall. It appears that, these days, neither of these drugstore competitors like to be part of a strip mall, so they have been abandoning them left and right for freestanding locations.<br /><br />Jeffrey, you're absolutely right that, more often than not, the improvement to urban design involves little more than a reconfiguration that removes the setback along on of the lot lines--not much more. Still an improvement, I guess, but cold comfort to those seeking a more substantive change. Are those Copenhagen gas stations even allowed in the US, or would building codes prohibit them?AmericanDirthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-49812335894545807992013-07-01T10:06:59.113-08:002013-07-01T10:06:59.113-08:00CVS is notorious for being inflexible with their d...CVS is notorious for being inflexible with their designs, and also for managing to find every possible way to screw things up when they are forced to do something more appropriately urban. <br /><br />One of the first Kunstler Casts was about how rather than doing a simple two-story building with the store on the first floor and other rentable space above, they popped the CVS up half a story and stuck the other spaces below, leading to a mess of ramps, stairs, and retaining walls. http://goo.gl/maps/uMM7v<br /><br />Overall though this brings up the question of how to better treat corner conditions where parking is still required on-site. Pharmacies, convenience stores, and especially gas stations are in desperate need of some new typologies. As it is, they seem to just keep their same design, but turn it 180 degrees, presenting the back to the corner, then trying to gussy it up a bit. That's of course not good enough. <br /><br />I'd love to see the reaction of the typical uptight US city fire chief to these gas stations on the ground floor of multi-story buildings in Copenhagen, but it does completely rethink the standard paradigm:<br />http://goo.gl/maps/hepqG<br />http://goo.gl/maps/05jBw<br />http://goo.gl/maps/Glo9K<br />http://goo.gl/maps/y6CEnJeffrey Jakucykhttp://www.jjakucyk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-14713091499278300922013-07-01T06:22:59.218-08:002013-07-01T06:22:59.218-08:00Check out the CVS/Walgreen's pair at South Mer...Check out the CVS/Walgreen's pair at South Meridian (SR135) and County Line. The brick-and-EIFS CVS is on the Indy side of the line, and is much older...2000 vintage. The 2012 Walgreen's is on the Greenwood side of the line.<br /><br />.<br /><br />Walgreen's is buff brick and limestone, pretty much appropriate for suburbs OR midtown Indy. It has a low retaining wall screening the typically-suburban "island building in a sea of parking" setup.Chris Barnettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-16360289241426060812013-07-01T04:46:49.281-08:002013-07-01T04:46:49.281-08:00In fairness, neither CVS nor Walgreens really buil...In fairness, neither CVS nor Walgreens really builds that many urban appropriate stores in Chicago. But lots of retailers have done very creative things.<br />The Urbanophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094204641794131438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-7210667523274251572013-06-30T15:22:18.547-08:002013-06-30T15:22:18.547-08:00Thanks for the comment. This may be another examp...Thanks for the comment. This may be another example where Indy balks too soon, too easily. Sure, the city pushes for good design initially, but if a developer shows any apprehension about investing because of a perceived onus being placed on him/her from the City, usually the city is more than happy to concede. While Chicago surely has better examples, I've already observed that Indy doesn't help its own case by having significantly worse examples than this CVS--including the Walgreens right across the street.AmericanDirthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600555386886915000noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158467536239735339.post-56075980425154492432013-06-30T14:03:08.274-08:002013-06-30T14:03:08.274-08:00Let me tell you what Indy needs to do. Sponsor a f...Let me tell you what Indy needs to do. Sponsor a field trip for planners to at a minimum Chicago, but possibly some other cities to collect photographs, site plans, and architectural drawings of various chains in urban locations. Then when the chain's reps come to Indy and talk about how their formats won't accommodate anything, the planners and whip out examples of where they actually did do better designs. <br />The Urbanophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094204641794131438noreply@blogger.com