{"id":1939,"date":"2026-02-11T02:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/?p=1939"},"modified":"2026-02-11T02:52:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:52:43","slug":"strip-malls-are-almost-all-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/strip-malls-are-almost-all-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Strip Malls Are Almost All Right"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Imagine an open-air courtyard space next to restaurants and shops: people of all kinds\u2014kids, elders, families, and students\u2014sit informally, enjoying coffee, tea, and food. Dappled light falls across the textured space, and spontaneous activity is everywhere. Is this what you picture when you hear \u201cstrip mall\u201d? For most, the answer is no. Yet this is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the.arabian.village\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/the.arabian.village\/\">Arabian Village<\/a> complex in Richardson, TX: a vibrant, spontaneous hub of micro-commerce and social gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1970\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-1152x2048.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-1215x2160.jpg 1215w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.01-scaled.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1080\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1920 \/ 1080;\" width=\"1920\" autoplay controls muted src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.02.mov\" playsinline><\/video><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This jarring contrast highlights the issue. Banal strip mall complexes suffer a terrible reputation, derided by architects as examples of urban decay. However, their ubiquity presents a unique, often unacknowledged opportunity to engage with the theme of the commons in the American suburb. To unlock this potential, we must adopt a nuanced stance: the strip mall\u2019s economic model is \u201calmost all right,\u201d but its spatial model is \u201call wrong.\u201d By reclaiming the \u201cDecorated Shed,\u201d we can facilitate a vernacular revival of this quasi-suburban civic hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why Banality Is a Virtue (The \u201cAll Right\u201d Economy)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Architect Robert Venturi\u2019s \u201cDecorated Shed\u201d typology perfectly describes the strip mall: a generic, utilitarian shell where identity is provided by the \u201cdecoration\u201d of the tenant<sup data-fn=\"16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7\" id=\"16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7-link\">1<\/a><\/sup>. In this context, the Shed is the developer-provided typology, consisting of the tilt-wall concrete and standardized 20-foot bay. The decoration consists of tenant improvements: the vibrant signage, the window displays of a halal grocer, and the specific cultural artifacts that breathe life into the glass storefronts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By decoupling the building\u2019s structure from its identity, the strip mall becomes a flexible stage for micro-commerce. Economically, this model is \u201call right\u201d because it is essential. DFW\u2019s neighborhood retail centers maintain a crucial affordability index, with average asking rents hovering around $22.45 per square foot<sup data-fn=\"c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4\" id=\"c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4-link\">2<\/a><\/sup>. These are the \u201cstarter homes\u201d for the entrepreneurial class. When we criticize the strip mall for being \u201ccheap,\u201d we are inadvertently critiquing the very low-barrier infrastructure that allows immigrant micro-commerce to exist. The economic \u201cbanality\u201d of the shed is its greatest democratic virtue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Spatial Failure (The \u201cAll Wrong\u201d Design)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, if the economics are \u201call right,\u201d the spatial configuration remains \u201call wrong.\u201d This failure is rooted in a design typology that prioritizes the vehicle above all else. The typical strip mall is a vast parking field with a single-loaded structure at the periphery: a template engineered for quick consumption and immediate exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This \u201cin and out\u201d design ideology ensures the complex acts as a place of transaction but never a place of assembly. The design is so ruthlessly auto-centric that even after a customer has parked, traveling from one store to another within the same strip mall often necessitates getting back into the car. This complete lack of on-site pedestrian permeability proves that walkability was never a design consideration. The absence of shaded seating, fountains, or central gathering points further prevents any form of spontaneous social lingering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Case for Incrementalism: A Texan Realism<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To realize the strip mall\u2019s potential, we must directly confront the spatial isolation imposed by this auto-centric layout. Yet we must also recognize that the remedy does not require a singular, heroic gesture. Dallas is historically a sprawling, car-centric landscape. To suggest that the vehicle must be entirely erased is to ignore the cultural and climatic reality of North Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, we must advocate for a process of incremental evolution. Solution-making in this context is about coexistence, allowing car culture to merge with new, human-centric typologies unique to Dallas. By viewing the strip mall not as an object to be demolished but as a site for slow, culture-led change, we find a viable path forward. The path to reclamation exists on a spectrum of interventions, ranging from light-touch cultural hacks to deep, systemic densification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Layer One: Tactical Acupuncture and Organic Infills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Transformation begins with light-touch fixes that shift the spatial psychology of a site without requiring massive capital. The Arabian Village in Richardson embodies this layer: its vibrancy is an organic result of tenants infilling affordable space with cultural purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The design interventions here are ingenious in their simplicity. Tenants have utilized string lighting as a space-making element, creating an invisible diaphragm that lowers the perceived ceiling and brings the vast sky down to a human scale. Furthermore, the site\u2019s planning, featuring a double-sided strip, utilizes what would typically be a \u201cback of house\u201d service area as a protected internal courtyard. While this creates operational challenges for deliveries, the tenants have turned this into a spatial advantage. By inserting water fountains, shading devices, and mobile heating and cooling units, they have engineered a responsive micro-climate. These minor changes prove that even a banal structure possesses the functional bones to support a vibrant social life if tenants are given the agency to linger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"894\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.03-1024x894.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.03-1024x894.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.03-300x262.png 300w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.03-768x671.png 768w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.03.png 1483w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Arabian Village Site Plan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Layer Two: Focused Design and the Regulatory Friction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The second layer involves a more deliberate, study-based intervention: reclaiming underutilized asphalt to create a permanent social anchor. This stage is best exemplified by <a href=\"https:\/\/shopcompanies.com\/properties\/hillcrest-village\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/shopcompanies.com\/properties\/hillcrest-village\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hillcrest Village Plaza<\/a> in Dallas. Surrounded by a dense catchment of both single-family homes and apartment complexes, the site possessed a \u201chidden\u201d pedestrian population historically suppressed by the auto-centric parking moat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By converting a large swath of central parking into a landscaped courtyard with turf and colonnades, the developer tapped into this latent demographic. At 9 o\u2019clock in the evening, the space remains filled with children playing on the grass while parents sit in the shaded colonnades. Removing the parking did not impede the restaurants\u2019 ability to make money; instead, it reduced vehicle reliance while capturing walkers from the surrounding apartments during \u201codd hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, this success hits a major wall: the invisible barrier of zoning. In much of North Texas, converting a parking stall into a courtyard is a legal battle against rigid minimum parking requirements. These codes treat a vacant parking space as a sacred legal necessity rather than a waste of land. As Donald Shoup argues, these mandates are the \u201cstarvation diet\u201d of suburban civic life, legally prohibiting the very \u201cCommons\u201d we claim to desire<sup data-fn=\"a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943\" id=\"a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943-link\">3<\/a><\/sup>. For the strip mall to move from \u201calmost all right\u201d to a \u201cVernacular Civic Hub,\u201d the revolution will not be led by an architect\u2019s pen, but by a city planner\u2019s eraser.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1280\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 720 \/ 1280;\" width=\"720\" autoplay controls muted src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Sequence-01_3.mp4\" playsinline><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Hillcrest Village Plaza in Dallas, TX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;69e1be1a8dd09&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"69e1be1a8dd09\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"880\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-Before-1024x880.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1974\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-Before-1024x880.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-Before-300x258.png 300w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-Before-768x660.png 768w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-Before.png 1266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Before<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;69e1be1a8e131&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"69e1be1a8e131\" class=\"wp-block-image size-large wp-lightbox-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"880\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-After-1024x880.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-After-1024x880.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-After-300x258.png 300w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-After-768x660.png 768w, https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/Fig.5-After.png 1266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\taria-label=\"Enlarge\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.imageButtonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.imageButtonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">After<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Layer Three: Comprehensive Transformation and the Gentrification Paradox<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final end of the spectrum is a full-scale reimagining of the strip mall as the foundation for a complete urban neighborhood. Projects like The Hill in Dallas demonstrate this by \u201cinverting\u201d the site, turning buildings inward and regrading for vertical growth. This layer adds the critical component of residential densification. However, this comprehensive approach presents a profound ethical challenge: the gentrification paradox. If the root virtue of the strip mall is its affordability, then a high-capital transformation risks destroying the very micro-economy it seeks to house. We must distinguish between \u201cretrofit&#8221; and \u201cpremiumization.\u201d The latter uses high-design finishes as a justification for rent hikes that price out the very entrepreneurial class the \u201cShed\u201d was built to house. To remain \u201calmost all right,\u201d densification must be married to community-led planning that protects existing tenants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without intentional protections, a densified strip mall risks becoming a premiumized enclave rather than a true communal asset. Projects like the Brodie Oaks Redevelopment in Austin and Wheatland Plaza in Duncanville illustrate this delicate balance. In Austin, developers are phasing construction to allow existing retailers to relocate on-site while adding a mandated 10% of units as affordable housing.<sup data-fn=\"2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b\" id=\"2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b-link\">4<\/a><\/sup> Similarly, Wheatland Plaza utilizes \u201cincremental development\u201d by breaking up failed big-box spaces into micro-units for local entrepreneurs, ensuring the community that sustained the plaza is not priced out of its future.<sup data-fn=\"2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce\" class=\"fn\"><a href=\"#2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce\" id=\"2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce-link\">5<\/a><\/sup> These examples prove that with empathetic management, a strip mall can evolve into a dense district that provides both a \u201cstarter home\u201d for the entrepreneur and a permanent home for the resident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion: A Vernacular Revival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The strip mall is the inescapable architecture of the modern American suburb. For decades, we have dismissed it through an aesthetic lens, ignoring the vital function it already serves as a Commons of Access. The path forward is a paradox: we must improve the physical space of the strip mall without \u201cpremiumizing\u201d it to the point of exclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By reclaiming the parking field, whether through tactical \u201cacupuncture\u201d or strategic densification, we can move the strip mall from a place of mere transaction to a place of true assembly. We must defend the low-barrier \u201cShed\u201d while aggressively redesigning the Parking Stall. If we recognize the immense potential of this simple architectural form, we find the \u201cMain Street\u201d we thought we had lost. The strip mall is economically \u201call right\u201d only as long as its banality keeps it affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our task is to surgically insert the \u201cCommons\u201d without triggering the price hike that kills the very culture we intend to house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>End Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-footnotes\"><li id=\"16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7\">Venturi, R., Scott Brown, D., &amp; Izenour, S. (1972). <em>Learning from Las Vegas<\/em>. MIT Press. <a href=\"#16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 1\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4\">Cushman &amp; Wakefield. (2025). <em>MarketBeat Dallas-Fort Worth Retail Q3 2024\/2025<\/em>. <a href=\"#c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 2\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943\">Shoup, D. (2005). <em>The High Cost of Free Parking<\/em>. APA Planners Press. <a href=\"#a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 3\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b\">City of Austin. (2023). <em>Brodie Oaks PUD Ordinance No. 20230921-100<\/em>. (Documenting on-site affordable housing and environmental superiority). <a href=\"#2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 4\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><li id=\"2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce\">Neighborhood Evolution LLC. (2024). <em>Wheatland Plaza Case Study<\/em>. (Detailing the 88% occupancy increase through incremental subdivision and community partnership). <a href=\"#2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce-link\" aria-label=\"Jump to footnote reference 5\">\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine an open-air courtyard space next to restaurants and shops: people of all kinds\u2014kids, elders, families, and students\u2014sit informally, enjoying coffee, tea, and food. Dappled light falls across the textured space, and spontaneous activity is everywhere. Is this what you picture when you hear \u201cstrip mall\u201d? For most, the answer is no. Yet this is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Venturi, R., Scott Brown, D., &amp; Izenour, S. (1972). <em>Learning from Las Vegas<\/em>. MIT Press.\",\"id\":\"16c9909d-d14d-472e-850d-9cf5e6403cf7\"},{\"content\":\"Cushman &amp; Wakefield. (2025). <em>MarketBeat Dallas-Fort Worth Retail Q3 2024\/2025<\/em>.\",\"id\":\"c6cb721f-9a56-4ede-a0c3-5157bdc8e0d4\"},{\"content\":\"Shoup, D. (2005). <em>The High Cost of Free Parking<\/em>. APA Planners Press.\",\"id\":\"a72568db-b645-4d5f-a877-138ae82f0943\"},{\"content\":\"City of Austin. (2023). <em>Brodie Oaks PUD Ordinance No. 20230921-100<\/em>. (Documenting on-site affordable housing and environmental superiority).\",\"id\":\"2feb3848-080e-49cc-9b4b-079b7c8dc36b\"},{\"content\":\"Neighborhood Evolution LLC. (2024). <em>Wheatland Plaza Case Study<\/em>. (Detailing the 88% occupancy increase through incremental subdivision and community partnership).\",\"id\":\"2debaf02-5215-4a36-a5ec-6388701b40ce\"}]"},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-urban-design-planning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Strip Malls Are Almost All Right - Columns - AIA Dallas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aiadallas.org\/columns\/strip-malls-are-almost-all-right\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Strip Malls Are Almost All Right - Columns - AIA Dallas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine an open-air courtyard space next to restaurants and shops: people of all kinds\u2014kids, elders, families, and students\u2014sit informally, enjoying coffee, tea, and food. Dappled light falls across the textured space, and spontaneous activity is everywhere. Is this what you picture when you hear \u201cstrip mall\u201d? For most, the answer is no. 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