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Every neighborhood should have a corner store鈥攂ut can't - YouTube
Channel: City Beautiful
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this video is sponsored by henson
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shaving
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75 of los angeles is owned r1 meaning
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that only single-family homes are
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allowed there seattle is at 81
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single-family homes charlotte is 84 and
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san jose is 94 single-family homes
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in u.s cities most land area is for
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houses with yards an incredible
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homogenous landscape only punctuated by
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the occasional school or park
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the nearest shopping is likely along a
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car-oriented arterial road and can still
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be a 10 to 15 minute drive away
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job centers will likely be even further
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away
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instead most people's houses will be
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surrounded by a bunch of other houses
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and that's about it
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in the last couple of years city
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planning reformers and activists have
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been pushing local governments to allow
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for more multi-family housing in these
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r1 zones to help alleviate the housing
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crisis crippling many u.s cities
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but when most of your cities land is for
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houses like this it's no wonder that
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there's not enough housing to go around
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that effort is critically important but
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there's another reform that can make r1
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zones work even better adding
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neighborhood scale commercial uses
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corner stores basically
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they may be small but they have a huge
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positive impact on their neighborhoods
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so let's talk about all those positive
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impacts after the bike belt
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r1 zones are meant for single family
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homes but the zoning code is a little
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bit more complicated than that let's
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take a look at my own local zoning code
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as an example it'll look pretty similar
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to zoning codes across the united states
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the use table shows which uses are
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allowed in each zone
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of course it allows single family homes
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that's the purpose it also allows parks
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mobile home communities residential care
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facilities and family daycares which are
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great
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these are all clearly compatible uses
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schools churches cemeteries and larger
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daycare centers all require a use permit
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that means the city may allow these uses
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if they meet certain standards but
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that's it that's all that can go within
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r1 zones like i mentioned in the intro
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cities have begun to ease up on the
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restrictive nature of r1 zoning in their
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communities due in part to activist
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pressure and state mandates and honestly
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sometimes a combination of both here in
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california where i live the state has
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mandated that cities must allow
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accessory dwelling units and allow
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property owners to split their lots into
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two and build a second house there it's
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now possible to have three or four units
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where only one was previously allowed
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regardless of what the local zoning code
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says cities like portland oregon and
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minneapolis minnesota have been leading
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the way in allowing multiple units in r1
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zones too so cities are loosening up
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their restrictions on residential
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density and r1 areas to better address
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the housing crisis but they need to also
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loosen up their restrictions on use
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there was one key category missing from
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that list of non-residential uses i
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mentioned earlier
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retail i'm not talking about dropping a
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costco in the middle of a neighborhood
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of single-family houses but
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neighborhoods serving a retail at a
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small scale can be a true game changer
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for the health traffic and environment
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of a neighborhood when i say
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neighborhood serving retail i'm mainly
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talking about the humble corner store
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these are typically one or two story
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structures on a single family sized lot
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often they don't have any off-street
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parking or maybe a handful of spaces in
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the front or back
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they are designed to fit the scale and
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character of the neighborhood corner
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stores are still a fairly common site in
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older neighborhoods though nearly
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completely absent in newer ones
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when i lived in eugene oregon i had an
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apartment down the street from a truly
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fantastic corner store
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new frontier market is a converted
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single-family house with bike racks
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benches and trees out front
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no off-street parking inside was a
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eugene style corner store which meant
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staples with an organic bent i could
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walk over buy something and get back
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home in less than 10 minutes
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it saved me countless drives to the
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supermarket and it was a great place to
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say hi to neighbors
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i've always had the pleasure of living
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in a neighborhood with a corner store
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and honestly i can't imagine living in a
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place without one the level of
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convenience is mind-blowing and it
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certainly means getting into a car
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waiting at traffic lights finding
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parking going to the store and doing it
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all in reverse to get back home
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with a corner story just pop on your
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shoes and head out the door it's amazing
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but there are some real city planning
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advantages to corner stores too about 45
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of all trips taken in the us are
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shopping trips commute trips only make
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up about 15 percent though that's the
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kind city planners often focus on
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because they're longer during peak
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traffic hours and can be more easily
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shifted to other modes
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it's a lot harder to get people out of
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their cars when they go shopping some of
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this is because costco runs necessitate
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a large vehicle but not all trips are
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meant to restock a pantry quick trips to
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pick up a prescription or get that
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missing ingredient can all be done on
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foot
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and of course when you get people to
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replace their car trips with walking
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trips you see a whole lot of benefits in
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2021 most cars use gas and emit carbon
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so reducing the number of car trips
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reduces carbon emissions you also see
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improved neighborhood air quality and
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make a dent in solving our climate
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emergency adding a new destination to a
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neighborhood can contribute to an
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increase in walkability and more
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walkable communities are associated with
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more physical activity basically walking
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to the store instead of driving can be a
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healthier way of getting there
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more physical activity can lead to
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better health outcomes so corner stores
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can literally make a community more
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healthy
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if the corner store carries fresh
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produce it can have a double benefit
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when compared to convenience stores and
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liquor stores the less attractive
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cousins of corner stores they often
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carry processed foods instead
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some cities have begun to mandate
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healthy food options in corner stores
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in 2008 the minneapolis city council
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passed an ordinance requiring corner
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stores to carry at least five varieties
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of perishable produce new york city
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offers tax abatements and waives some of
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the parking requirements to corner
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stores that stock produce the
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environmental and health benefits are
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substantial but so too are the traffic
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benefits and honestly i think the
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traffic argument might be the best one
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to make to win people over at least
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those who are concerned about having a
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corner store in their neighborhood many
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corner stores don't have off-street
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parking and residents may be concerned
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about the increased traffic around the
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store but corner stores also take cars
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off the road as people can walk to get
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milk and eggs instead of say driving
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from their cul-de-sac onto the
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neighborhood collector then waiting at
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the traffic signal to get onto the
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congested arterial street
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and corner stores by their very nature
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are local serving people don't drive
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into a neighborhood to access a specific
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corner store their main selling point is
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convenience to the local neighborhood
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they aren't major regional draws
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neighborhoods or corner stores are
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simply better than those without them
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how do we make sure more neighborhoods
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have their own new frontier market i
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already mentioned the biggest obstacle
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the zoning code most communities do not
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allow corner stores or any neighborhood
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retail like diners cafes or ice cream
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shops even with a conditional use permit
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we've already seen cities make policy
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changes to make it easier to build
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density in r1 zones and the only change
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we take here is switching retail uses
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from not allowed to allowed or at least
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a conditional use from it
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that alone would make neighborhoods so
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much more walkable but there's another
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sort of hidden way to add neighborhood
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walkability through corner stores i know
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that in some areas these stores already
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exist along arterial commercial strips
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they're designed to encourage drivers to
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stop in but turn their backs on the
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local neighborhood
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even those that live within a walking
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distance to them would feel more
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comfortable driving there and when a
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street is this dangerous who can blame
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them but these stores can sometimes be
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purposely designed with neighborhood
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access in mind this strip mall in san
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luis obispo includes two access points
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that allow for pedestrians and cyclists
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to get there safely the first is a
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cul-de-sac with a sidewalk that
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continues into the parking lot on the
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other side a set of stairs and an
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accessible ramp make for a nice access
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point
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now everyone living in the neighborhood
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can get to the stores and restaurants
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safely and honestly more conveniently
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than driving it's a big win-win for the
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strip mall too is they can get customers
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in cars and on foot
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it's possible that your nearby strip
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mall could add one of these access
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points without much trouble depending on
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the street grid
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and it could certainly be required of
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new strip malls and convenience stores
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where the street grid allows
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this is yet another way to get stores
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within walking distance of people in the
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suburbs reducing car trips and who
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doesn't love being able to get
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everything they need in a short walk
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from their house
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one thing you can't find at a corner
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store is a great high quality razor sure
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they may have some cheap disposable ones
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but they probably don't have something
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like this
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solid metal manufactured at a canadian
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aerospace machine shop the henson
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shaving razor is built to such tight
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tolerances because only an incredibly
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small part of the blade is exposed
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ensuring an irritation free experience
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i've used this razor and i can
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personally vouch for that
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it hardly even feels like it's cutting
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hair and it never seems to get gunked up
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the razor itself feels great in the hand
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and loading blades is super easy
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the best part might be the price of the
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blades each blade costs about 10 cents
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so you're only paying about three to
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five dollars per year in razor blades
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when you add in the razor you're saving
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a lot of money over the typical
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proprietary cartridge razor system you'd
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find at the store
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it really is a good deal if you're
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