Mobile Development Thread

[Del]

If Eastern Shore Centre is an example of this streetscape model, I wish somebody would explain to me what the big attraction is. Every time I go over there, it's in and out of the car the whole time. I'm a pretty good walker but I don't see the appeal in maneuvering my weary self, weather permitting, across acres of parking lot and around big blank sides of stores to get to the next thing, all the while dodging the ladies in their SUVs. And when you are outside, they're blaring music at you from those outdoor speakers---it's like what they use to keep the loiterers away from the Blockbuster parking lot.

The last restaurant I ate in over there, California Dreaming I think it was, was such a highly-refined version of the chain genre that I kept expecting to hear our flight being called-- it was like something in an airport. There's the much-vaunted Williams Sonoma/PB and a few others, but otherwise the store lineup is pretty unexciting. Maybe it's just me, but I find every excursion over there to be enervating rather than "ooh, let's go in this exciting store and shop a little more."

A friend told me that the concept is supposed to duplicate the experience of shopping in a village street. Well, a couple of benches and a fountain do not Old Town make. It's almost like they've thrown out the advantages of both shopping environments (Mall: controlled climate, park once; Village: density, "fun" atmosphere, unique shops) and contented themselves with the worst instead.

If I'm being an idiot and this is the most successful development in South Alabama history, I apologize in advance.