Lots on grocery stores

Another thread on pro-urb, that I've written a bunch about including:

The only Sav-a-lot I've seen is on Broadway Ave. in Fells Point. It is urban, but does nothing to enhance the street. There is the Giant Supermarket adjacent to the Waverly Main Street District, an emerging retail district in Baltimore, that does a complete f*u* to the traditional commercial district. The Tivoli Square Giant in DC isn't quite as bad, it has windows, but does its F*u* in different ways. I don't think I posted Waverly Giant photos to either my blog or to flickr (I do have them) but this blog entry about that trip has some photos of the Eddie's Market independent store in Charles Village.

Wasted opportunity in the Waverly District, Baltimore. (I didn't take a photo of the other end of the building, which juts out closer to Greenmount Avenue. It's even worse.)

Clearly, especially in distressed commercial districts, urban design requirements are ESSENTIAL. Otherwise it's just millions of dollars of wasted opportunity. See these two blog entries about the Giant Supermarket at Tivoli Square, "That's not my Giant."

It's this latter entry, with some other stuff, that I want to try to work up into a concept paper, and hopefully publish it in one of the supermarket trade magazines.As much as I enjoy this work, it's damn hard to continue to cry into the design wilderness.

Re my earlier post in response to Elaine. IT'S ALL About Urban Design. Always. No exceptions. Ever.