Mixed use buildings

One big element that makes a successful city is having mixed-use buildings. When there is a retail or commercial store on the bottom floor of the building it engages the street level. The more variety of uses in the mixed-use buildings the more the street life begins to create a unique area outside. Creating activity for people to enjoy cups of coffee at cafes, gelato at ice cream shops, getting fresh produce from the local farmer store, walk to the corner pharmacy, or shop for some new clothes. The mixed-use buildings create activity on the street level for almost 24 hours. Streets that are not mixed used or blank building facades create crime and mischievous activity. The streets that are only single use buildings can be dangerous because there is not constantly activity going on. Many people picture living above somewhere can be loud and annoying. This is true if you live in a college town like Starkville’s cotton district node or Oxford’s downtown square. These places are mixed-use being used fully for the nightlife scene. If you are a person who is disturbed by those kinds of places there are also coffee shops, retail, or commercial stores you can live above. The cotton district desperately needs a grocery store I can walk or ride my bike to instead of me driving miles to Highway 12’s box grocery store. Those large commercial boxes are one big contributor to destroying land in the United States. They take up a chunk of land and sale everything you can think of putting local business out of work. When you have smaller mixed-use buildings businesses have more of the specifics in what you are searching for. The employees also know what you are talking about because they spend time with that specific trade. Unlike when you go to Wal-Mart where the employees just hate their job and learn nothing because the store is too big. The store is too large and makes the employee not get familiar with one trade. Of course they don’t like their job, that place is overwhelming. A person in a small local bakery is going to learn so much more about that specific trade than a big box employee. Smaller mixed-use buildings side by side to the next business are doing many beneficial things such as giving back to the local economy, educating a local employee by giving them a trade/skill they can apply, and making their business much easier to reach within walking distance. Mixed-Use buildings are just another option of living for people in a community. It is important to offer other types of housing in community because not everyone can afford a single-family suburban house. Mixed-use living usually is a great place for younger age people to live when they first of out of college and starting a job. A single family suburban home is not necessary for one person to live. Variety of living accommodations is important because not everyone wants to live the same way. It also integrates social classes keeping them from being segregated like suburban development does.