What city is the least unspoiled by concrete and strip malls?
 

There is an interesting thread going about what cities are the most spoiled by concrete and strip malls. So ... which cities are the least spoiled by these things?

Gary, Indiana. Removing the strip malls woldn't matter all that much...

Hilton Head, South Carolina. There are NO strip malls there. It is against city ordinance.

I would say suburban towns full of rich people. The more expensive the homes the less likely there are ugly places in town. In the Washington Dc area places like Great Falls, Va and Potomac MD are basically free of concrete except in a small tidy downtown area.<BR><BR>I find the south is the worst when it comes to ugly concrete filled communities. The worst- any town in TX.

One thing is certain, Jack is NOT a well traveled lad.

xx how did you come up with your opinion on Jack. The south and poor places do have more ugly concrete filled areas.

The South has more concrete than New York, Philly, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburg, etc.? Don't think so. The South certainly has it's share but to say it is the worst is plain dumb. The North is far worse.

The cities that make up the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson MSA in Upstate South Carolina are pretty grim. Even though they're full of trees, there's no disguising 7-lane highways, cracked wastelands of parking lots, and the miles up miles of desperately poor, run-down neighborhoods that seperate their beautiful downtowns from their richer suburbs.<BR><BR>In Greenville's favor though, is downtown, which even an ardent hater of SC will admit is one of the finest in the nation, filled with fountains, statues, azalea beds, and overhung by a double collonade of mature willow oaks. Spartanburg and Anderson however, have ambitions and only that when it comes to downtown. Overall, the region is terribly scarred by sprawl and slums.

Oh yeah... in contrast to GSA is Asheville, 60 miles north, which retains most of its historic architecture and narrow streets which date from the city's earliest days. The central city is surprisingly untouched by sprawl except for handful of places here and there. Residential neighborhoods, rich and poor, are filled with trees.<BR><BR>On the outskirts of town, strict landscaping requirments soften the lines of commercial developments and new subdivisions so that even the most suburban developments (except, again, for a handful) don't offend the eye as much as you'd expect. The overall effect is a lush city that looks very affluent urban grit (some rundown historic industrial districts and some sprawl) to keep it from feeling terminally precious.

Jessica, "the South and poor places"? Oops. You and Jack need to venture south of the Mason Dixon line at least once before making such blanket statements. Some of the poorest and ugliest of all towns sit deteriorating in the rust belt, their residents all fled to the growth zones.

Jeez... I really should proofread before I post.<BR><BR>1st Post: Should read "...miles UPON miles..."<BR><BR>2nd Post: Should read "...WITH ENOUGH urban grit..."<BR><BR>Sorry 'bout that.

Uh, Austin, have you driven down Patton Avenue or Tunnel Road in Asheville lately? Better than GSA, yes, but horrible eyesores nonetheless.

As a southerner, let me venture into patriotic self-criticism and admit that the south is far behind the rest of the country in applying community beneficial zoning laws. Thus the south has more strip malls and the like than anywhere else in the world. Fellow southerners, let's wake up. Absolute property rights very often leads to community ugliness.

Strip malls are pretty much a necessity. Who doesn't shop at the local Target or Home Depot. It's not the strip malls that bother me, its the dirty rundown left to rot machine factories and slummy areas overgrown with too dense a population anf no public parks that are an eysore to me. I live in Orlando so I know what I speak about as we have tons of strip malls. At leas they however try to do some landscaping and greenery even palm trees in the parking lot areas and medians. I would be willing to bet they are kept up better than an old steel mill in the rust belt.

And don't forget all the empty WalMart stores sitting just across the street from the Super WalMart stores. What a waste!<BR><BR>I personally can't think any city which hasn't been spoiled in some way by strip malls, empty or not. Some places have just learned how to disguise them better than others.

Oooh, yes, someone from Orlando should definitely lecture the rest of us on zoning!!!

Kansas City, Mo. is known as the city of fountains and rightly so. It has its share of concrete; but it is well done.

I am from Orlando and wasn't lecturing on zoning. I know we have a lot of strip malls here, maybe too many. I was simply saying that I would rather see a strip mall (especially one with nice landscaping) than a rundown unused factory and the concrete jungle around it.

Anonymous: The only reason I shop in a Target or Wal-Mart is because these mega-monsters have put the mom & pop stores out of business - I would much rather give my $$ to a small locally owned store, rather than those beasts.

Has anyone ever done a study on how many acres of woods have been cut down to build all those super stores that have taken over the country side in the last 10 years. So many beautiful forests cut down so people can save a few cents over the downtown store prices.<BR><BR>Walmart and Kmart parking lots never seem to have landscaping either.