Urban Retail: Essential Planning, Design, and Management Practices

This fast paced program will demonstrate how principles of retail development can be combined with the best practices of New Urbanism, Smart Growth, and architectural design to create successful mixed-use urban commercial centers.   

Ideal for developers, planners, investors, retailers, architects, and public officials, the program will cover many topics, among them the required market demographics for various retailers, shopping center typologies and consumer psychographics, as well as the nuts and bolts of how to program, plan, and design competitive retail in historic downtowns, underperforming shopping centers, and new ground-up developments, as well as in failed suburban centers.   

The session will be based on Robert Gibbs’ new book, “Principles for Urban Retail Planning and Development” and include: leasing, finance, programming, planning, design, storefronts, merchandising and parking, for both new towns and historic city centers. Over 20 case studies will be examined including: Alexandria, Birkdale Village, Charleston, Easton, Lake Forest, Middleton Hills, Naples, Rosemary Beach, Santa Cruz and Seaside.

CEUs: 14 AIA/CES (HSW); 14 AICP/CM; 14 LA/CES

Instructors: Robert J. Gibbs, Gibbs Planning Group, Birmingham, MI; Terry Shook, Shook Kelly, Charlotte, NC. Guest speakers: Yaromir Steiner, Steiner + Associates, Columbus, OH & Jane  Grabowski-Miller, Erdman Holdings, Middleton Hills, WI.