I hate what modern cities are becoming. Having spent a lot of time in NY,

[henslee]

L.A and MIAMI, I see the box stores, the same lame strip shops malls and chainstores... and all kinds of ugly residential housing/condos causing who knows what kind of congestion and I just think YIKES, what a bummer.

[Ilsa]

1. Yeah, where's the fun in shopping if everyone has the same old

shit from one city to another?

I can't hardly stomach going into a large city like Houston anymore to find the great shops because it is so congested.

[henslee]

6. Everytime I see a new shopping complex displacing mom n' pop

shops that were already there, I never understand swhy cities don't find ways to include smaller shops that were already at a location, into the new equation. Neighborhood bookstores, pastry shops, hardware stores and pet shops are a thing of the past.. So many little nuanceed businesses that used to make up cities are gone. I don't like it. Sure you can get stuff on the net... but it's not quite the same interaction.

[Cassandra]

2. We in NYC have been malled...

and we don't like it very much.

[Left Is Write]

4. That sucks.

[sir_captain]

5. Still not so bad...

I don't mind the Home Depot and the Whole Foods. We can never have any strip malls, thank god. And honestly, if the tourists go to the olive garden and red lobster in times square and leave me alone, I'm all for it.

[trackfan]

3. It seems that when a place has some individual character

it becomes very popular; thus, the rents go up. The stand-alone places can't afford the rent. Big corporations can. The corporations take over and come up with a knock-off version of cool. Of course, it's no longer cool. The buzz wears off and everything turns to shit.

[Cassandra]

10. Sounds like Soho

The big corporations saw the crowds and figured only they were entitled to them so they bid up the spaces, the cool people mostly went elsewhere and the tourists fron LI and Jersey flood the place on weekends.

[Tweed]

7. Come to Chicago or Boston

Yeah, those three cities you listed have become major shitholes.

[yvr girl]

8. Vancouver just said no to Walmart

They've been working on the proposal for 4 years, and it would have been the most environmentally friendly store, but city council just voted against it yesterday.

One of the councilors even cited the fact that Walmart is a big contributor to Bush as a reason to say no.

The Westside of Vancouver said no to a Home Depot last year. Not all cities are becoming like the burbs.

City Planners from all over North America come to Vancouver to see what we're doing.

[truthbetold]

9. But NYC still has lots of charm...

Especially in SoHo and Greenwich village. Those are just areas you can't find in most cities.