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NYT scans
Three quick reads from the NYTimes:
Ads cluttering the daily experience: Anywhere the Eye Can See, It's Likely to See an Ad: "Consumers' viewing and reading habits are so scattershot now that many advertisers say the best way to reach time-pressed consumers is to try to catch their eye at literally every turn."
Chains homegenizing the neighborhood experience: Now, Big-Name Retail Chains Will Take the Other Boroughs, Too: "The chain proliferation and the sameness they have brought to so many blocks has become a pet peeve for many New Yorkers, and the butt of jokes for others. On a recent episode of [an NBC sitcom], a character sent to pick up a prescription was stymied by the presence of 'Rite Drugs' outlets on all four corners of an intersection."
(Includes a quote from the Municipal Art Society, which opposes "chain store creep".)
Government addressing the neighborhood experience: Once at Cotillions, Now Reshaping the Cityscape, about NYC's planning commissioner Amanda Burden: "Planning experts and her supporters in the administration say, her focus on the small details adds up to a profound effect. 'The physical environment is absolutely essential and creates the kind of communities that make people want to invest in those communities,' [deputy mayor] Doctoroff said."
