Redoing the Strip

Redoing the Strip

Urban Land, March 2003 issue
By Christine Rombouts

Converting run-down strip retail centers into new mixed-use neighborhoods, termed “suburban villages,” that could include for-sale homes, apartments, shops, entertainment and offices is a concept that is gaining greater attention in California from both local governments and the housing industry as the state seeks ways to provide more housing — especially affordable housing — to its growing population.

The critical shortage of affordable housing, along with the need to re-invent and revitalize our aging downtowns, are two important planning issues facing many cities, according to Randy Jackson, principal of the Planning Center, a Costa Mesa, California-based firm specializing in land, community, and environmental planning, and one of the speakers at a workshop titled “Converting Strip Malls into Suburban Villages,” sponsored by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) statewide conference in San Diego last October. “We have to look back to our existing suburban areas, where infrastructure systems already exist, and we need to develop infill sites, intensify housing density, and revitalize our neighborhoods,” he maintained. “We need to dedicate ourselves to reinventing our suburban communities by committing to more efficient and creative use of land.”

Nearing completion in Huntington Beach, California, is Plaza Almeria.

When successfully redeveloped, older strip shopping centers present an opportunity for communities to halt urban sprawl, reinforce community identity, and provide new housing, pointed out Melani Smith, director of governmental services for The Planning Center. “We’re adding jobs, we’re adding people, but at the same time, we’re not building enough housing,” she said. “We need a broader and more diverse selection of housing options beyond the single-family detached home in suburbia.”

A recent survey by the Public Policy Institute of California underscores the potential of mixed-use neighborhoods in urban areas as a source of new housing. According to the survey of more than 2,000 residents, which focused on land use, 47 percent of the respondents said they would prefer a mixed-use neighborhood within walking distance of such amenities as shops, theaters and restaurants. While 43 percent of the non-Hispanic respondents said they would prefer to live in a mixed-use neighborhood, 52 percent of the Hispanics said they would prefer such a neighborhood. Continue »