Good accessibility, availability of utilities, and land costs are all considered. Planned centers may have considerable advantages over unplanned shopping areas. Parking is provided on site, and planners want shoppers to walk no farther than 400 feet before reaching the retail area. Within the retail area traffic does not interfere with pedestrian movement. And, of course, in an enclosed mall lighting and climate can be controlled.
Designs can be particularly attractive and effective at maximizing sales.
Sculptures and other landmarks provide some sense of place. Ease of pedestrian movement is often a goal, with corridors as narrow as 35 feet allowing shoppers to cross frequently from one side of a corridor to the other. Planned as a whole, major attractions can be placed in corner locations to draw pedestrians past secondary businesses and impulse buying opportunities. Single-purpose trip generators such as a beauty parlor, movie theater, or realtor will be relegated to the periphery. Past, Present, and Future America's first planned shopping center may have been Roland Park, which was built in Baltimore in 1907.