posted by Mike Madison at 1:19 PM /
From Time magazine's 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now
The American suburb as we know it is dying. The implosion began with the housing bust, which started in and has hit hardest the once vibrant neighborhoods outside the urban core. Shopping malls and big-box retail stores, the commercial anchors of the suburbs, are going dark — an estimated 148,000 stores closed last year, the most since 2001. But the shift is deeper than the economic downturn. Thanks to changing demographics, including a steady decline in the percentage of households with kids and a growing preference for urban amenities among Americans young and old, the suburban dream of the big house with the big lawn is vanishing. The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech predicts that by 2025 there will be a surplus of 22 million large-lot homes (on one-sixth of an acre [675 sq m] or more) in the U.S. ...
Not every suburb will make it. The fringes of a suburb like Riverside in Southern California, where housing prices have fallen more than 20% since the bust began, could be too diffuse to thrive in a future where density is no longer taboo. It'll be the older inner suburbs like Tysons Corner, Va., that will have the mass transit, public space and economic gravity to thrive postrecession. Though creative cities will grow more attractive for empty-nest -retirees and young graduates alike, we won't all be moving to New York. Many Americans will still prefer the space of the suburbs — including the parking spaces. "People want to balance the privacy of the suburbs with more public and social areas," says Dunham-Jones. But the result will be a U.S. that is more sustainable — environmentally and economically.
Good news for Mt. Lebanon?
2. Recycling the Suburbs
The American suburb as we know it is dying. The implosion began with the housing bust, which started in and has hit hardest the once vibrant neighborhoods outside the urban core. Shopping malls and big-box retail stores, the commercial anchors of the suburbs, are going dark — an estimated 148,000 stores closed last year, the most since 2001. But the shift is deeper than the economic downturn. Thanks to changing demographics, including a steady decline in the percentage of households with kids and a growing preference for urban amenities among Americans young and old, the suburban dream of the big house with the big lawn is vanishing. The Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech predicts that by 2025 there will be a surplus of 22 million large-lot homes (on one-sixth of an acre [675 sq m] or more) in the U.S. ...
Not every suburb will make it. The fringes of a suburb like Riverside in Southern California, where housing prices have fallen more than 20% since the bust began, could be too diffuse to thrive in a future where density is no longer taboo. It'll be the older inner suburbs like Tysons Corner, Va., that will have the mass transit, public space and economic gravity to thrive postrecession. Though creative cities will grow more attractive for empty-nest -retirees and young graduates alike, we won't all be moving to New York. Many Americans will still prefer the space of the suburbs — including the parking spaces. "People want to balance the privacy of the suburbs with more public and social areas," says Dunham-Jones. But the result will be a U.S. that is more sustainable — environmentally and economically.
Good news for Mt. Lebanon?
5 Comments:
It'll be the older inner suburbs like Tysons Corner, Va., that will have the mass transit, public space and economic gravity to thrive postrecession.
If Tyson's Corner is the model for the future of older inner suburbs then we're all screwed. I guess the author of that piece has never stepped foot in Tyson's, which is about 95% malls and retail space.
"Shopping malls..., the commercial anchors of the suburbs." A topic near and dear to my heart. High end stores like Nordstrom, Burberry, Louis Vuitton,and Tiffany's noted our changing demographics and chose Ross Park Mall.
Elaine,
I'm curious: What aspects of our demographics caused them to locate stores in Ross Park instead of Mt. Lebanon. What would you have done to change the demographics to land those retailers?
I would have guessed that their decision had more to do with the availability of retail space that matches their store model moreso than demographics.
Tim,
June 10, 2005 Pittsburgh Business Times reported, "Simon Property Group has told representatives of current and potential tenants of South Hills Village that it expects to bring Nordstrom to the Mount Lebanon area mall..." During this time, there was talk of Kaufmann's leaving. And they did. And after that, so did Boscov's. March 24, 2006 Post Gazette reported that Nordstrom chose the region's best-performing area mall, Ross Park Mall. I take that to mean that it came down to demographics. Is it age? Income level? To me, it must be income level for these high end retailers.
If you look at Simon's tenant information, the demographics are nearly the same, tho' the South Hills is a little older.
The number of households/shoppers in the shopping radius, however, is about 18% higher in Ross Park - just plain more folks.
Mary Beth Sklar
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