It is reproduced here with the kind permission of the authors and the publisher. Some hyperlinks have been added to the text for people who might not be familiar with some of the terms used by the authors. The full Table of Contents is also available. A discussion of these ideas can be found on the MiniCity Discussion page.
Variety is the spice of life.
We hypothesize that there may be a way to evolve a high-density minicity that many people might actually prefer to suburban living, an enclave in which the only role of the car is outside its confines. Our story starts with the shopping mall. People, at least most people, like the big, fully enclosed shopping malls with their large department stores and small specialty stores, with restaurants and cafes, usually movie theaters, and sometimes a supermarket and a drug store. They seem to like the excitement and the variety that the mall developers and managers do their best to provide. And they appreciate the security.