Good neighbourhood shopping streets have long been significant in their ability to
provide goods and services within walking distance of neighbourhood residents, to
create a rich public realm, and to foster a sense of community. Far removed from
their past as streetcar strips, the neighbourhood shopping street is once again being
looked at as an important element of the urban environment. The purpose of this
thesis is to determine the characteristics of good neighbourhood shopping streets
and to examine these characteristics in the context of two Vancouver case
studies—Commercial Drive and West 41st Avenue.
Based on a review of planning, urban design, and landscape architecture literature,
the fundamental principles of good neighbourhood shopping streets are revealed.
Specifically, a good neighbourhood shopping street is accessible, comfortable,
sociable, a place, adaptable, beautiful, and diverse. Flowing from these principles,
and the means to them, are the characteristics of good neighbourhood shopping
streets—buildings that relate to the street, good walking facilities, pedestrian
amenities, traffic management, street activity, neighbourhood goods and services,
maintenance, supportive neighbourhood context, and supportive government.
The research suggests that real-life neighbourhood shopping streets rarely have all
the characteristics that the literature holds as ideal. Rather, some characteristics—
buildings that relate to the street, street activity, neighbourhood goods and services,
a supportive neighbourhood context, and supportive government—appear as
fundamental to good neighbourhood shopping streets but are exhibited to varying
degrees. More specifically, the case studies help illustrate what particular elements
are either essential or helpful, creating a checklist that other streets can benefit from.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8245 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Scott, Lisa M. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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