Making Big Box Stores More Walkable

June Williamson, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, spoke with Streetsblog about the challenge of making that most auto-centric of development typology—the big box—friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists.

1 minute read

September 9, 2015, 12:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Angie Schmitt interviewed June Williamson, co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia, about the possibility of salvaging the streets and parking lots around big box stores "to make them more walkable for the people who shop and work at these stores every day?"

Schmitt what she found in the interview, organized around a few central concepts, some of which are listed here:

  • "Make sure you have sidewalks and crosswalks."
  • "Create a path through the parking lot."
  • "Make sure there's bike parking."
  • "Create some outdoor public spaces and seating."

The article includes more details on these points, as well as the others included in the article. 

Tuesday, September 8, 2015 in Streetsblog USA

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