Interesting take suggesting #Walmart is a car-free replication of a small downtown.
"By segregating the cars completely outside and making the “streets” car-free—something often deemed suspect or radical when attempted in actual cities—the shopping experience becomes safer and more convenient to the customer. ... The essence of suburban big-box retail is classic car-free urbanism.
@md The supposition is based on #PatternLiteracy although they probably don't even know what that is. Essentially, by focusing on the wants and needs of their customers in an attempt to maximize profits, the same basic pattern emerged that drove the emergence of towns.
The difference is that the car and car infrastructure interrupted the working pattern of a downtown community. So its only natural that the basic pattern would re-emerge in another form.
This was essentially predicted in the 70s classic A Pattern Language... Pattern 100: Pedestrian Streets.
When that pattern was removed from a functioning society, it craved to be recreated - first as the Mall. Then as the box store.
Hippy Steve
Mike D