Veritas et Venustas

The Best New Urban Retail Book

BOB GIBBS worked for the most profitable mall developer in the country, where he learned the many simple but effective principles that national retailers like the Gap and Apple use to beat the pants of local retailers. For example, he can tell you exactly how many cents per square foot a store's income will rise if they change thier store lighting from flourescent to a particular warm incandescent bulb the national retailers have identified. There are similar rules for exterior signs, window arrangement, store arrangement and the like - all tied quite precisely to how the affect sales per square foot. These figures are all known, because all the cash registers in malls are linked to the mall's computers, since the mall owenr gets a percentage of sales.

Buy it, you'll like it. And you'll learn a lot, about successful and unsuccessful retail, why Mom & Pop's usually don't compete very well with the chains, about retail rules in general and about how those rules relate to architectural design in general.

Hint: Follow the KISS Rule most of the time. KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid.

Example: Regarding all the fancy and expensive streetscapes that are in vogue now, Bob has the sakes figures to prove that you want Main Street customers to look at the shop windows, not the sidewalks. Obviosuly sales per square foot are not the point of urbanism, but most Main Street redos are about economic vitality, and it's nice to know that these rules support good, simple design.

Principles of Urban Retail, Planning and Development @ Amazon

Modernism is the Old New

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Mayor LaGuardia's The ABC of City Planning

Download The ABC of City Planning

The Citizens Housing & Planning Council scanned a copy of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's 1937 The ABC of City Planning. You can download a PDF copy at their website or from the link above.

J—is for jumble     
    Caused only by man
Who recklessly built
    Without a good plan

found at www.chpcny.org/

@jmassengale tweets

Here are the most recent, there are 500+ more here.

RTing myself: Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1% bit.ly/vvrichredux #OWS

@MASNYC But when NYC has too many rich (like now) it consumes more culture than it creates RT People think culture something ... #summitnyc

I'll believe corporations are people when Texas executes one #OWS wethepeople Corporations have the rights We the People grant them

The 99% are We the People trying to be heard #ows #occupy #wethepeople

Mayor Mike visited Zuccotti Park, now Chase CEO Jamie Dimon should invite #OWS to Occupy Chase Plaza - and help with tents, hot food etc.

"I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love." Steve Jobs

So rage against elected government is patriotic, but rage against multi-national corporations anti-American #DailyShow #occupywallstreet

Bought 2 arch guides in Amsterdam. More than 30% of bldngs on both lists since 1940. Have they been to Amsterdam? #ArchitectsAreIdeologues

From Amsterdam on a perfect day: When the Dutch ride Vespas, the noise is a pleasant summer drone. Italians? A raucous cacophany!

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Warren Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Part 2: Politically, New York urbanists & New Urbanists have a great deal in common #urbandesignweek ps1.org/calendar/view/…

Strikes me @ ps1.org/calendar/view/… that many New York urbanists have an ideological rejection of New Urbanists based solely on style (Pt 1)

@ MoMA PS1 for Urban Design Week listening to Shaun Donovan, Barry Bergdoll & Lizz Plater-Zyberk ps1.org/calendar/view/… #urbandesignweek

Yo! The 20th century is over—we don't have to be "Modern" anymore

Duchamp's urinal was "created" 94 years ago. Must we still pay the consequences today? #bringbackthebeautiful

Beautiful architecture speaks to the senses Lot of contemporary architecture speaks to intellect Without common sense the intellect is dumb

I've lost what little patience I had for new architecture that supports alienation, anomie, depression, misanthropy, nihilism ... and ego.

BGlab for #urbandesignweek kickoff - great to see so many interested in NY urbanism & a great young crowd

Caveat Emptor Priceline Edition #priceline #priceline.com bit.ly/pricelinescks - and I used to really like them

New Urbanist-leanings of Guggenheim Lab paint democratic vision of a civic ideal. What is your civic vision?: bit.ly/pU99ii RT@NewUrbanism

We figured out Gov. Palin wasn't a career politician when she quit #sowhatelseisnew #blowhard

Paul Newman talks about urbanism - and gets it all right bitly.com/vvpnew

Andrew Sullivan asks if we need more roads (hint: "no) bit.ly/2manyrds

@NAHBhome: old days of selling sububan houses like hotcakes are over. In new world, we have too much sprawl and too little walkable urbanism

RT @Lock Best Yankees move in YEARS. Parm to open in Yankee Stadium Tomorrow eater.cc/oJVoRU //Lukes Lobster far behind?

Curbed shows Starchitects' houses but skips all the Starchitects who live in traditional buildings like Rem & Zaha http://bit.ly/starchi

"Interesting" is the most overused word in Modern architecture. "Beauty" most frequently the missing word. #architecture #modernism

more here

If it's Thursday, this must be Oxford

Another day in The Great Street Design Book Tour. Tomorrow, London & Barcelona.

London

Beaufort Gardens

IF ALL GOES AS SCHEDULED, I will be taking off as this posts. I'm on the way to London to work on a street design book with my friend and colleague Victor Dover. We're going to measure and photograph (I hope - rain is forecast) old favorites and look at some new places (to us) like Beaufort Gardens.

I sometimes like the way the English park in the middle of the street, but I've never seen a street where the paving and parking continue between the trees. You could move the cars and have a wonderful block party.

After a few days in London and Oxford we head to Barcelona - so I've been watching Barcelona.

A moose and a lobster walk into a bar ...

WHAT A PLEASURE working in Maine to produce a SmartCode for Damariscotta.

Bert and I