Edward T. McMahon, a senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute, thinks so:
One of the biggest reasons why the strip is coming to an end is because bricks-and-mortar stores are becoming a smaller part of the retail landscape.
First, it was catalog shopping; now it is e-commerce, social media and mobile phones.
This means that retailers will seek smaller footprints as merchandise categories move to on-line channels. For example, the rise of Netflix and streaming video means the end of bricks-and motor video stores. E-readers portend the end or at least the downsizing of bookstores; ditto for music stores, Hallmark card stores and other merchandise categories.
None of this is meant to suggest that we won’t still have neighbor centers with grocery stores, drugstores, coffee shops, etc. We will. But … commercial strips (i.e. road towns) with no beginning and no end, with no center and no way to get around except by car, are becoming obsolete in an era of shrinking stores, rising gas prices, discerning consumers and online shopping.
I don’t know…I just got back from South Florida. The strip mall there appears to be going strong and it is the only place where you find stores, restaurants and bars. If the strip mall dies there, then there will be no places to shop there at all (except, of course online).
I, too, visited Florida very recently and my sense is au contraire.
Just as in most of the USA and Canada, strip malls predominate but there is plenty of nice walkable urbanism in Florida: much of Miami Beach, a bit of Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach, Lauderdale by the Sea and probably lots more. Lots of great food and drink and even some retail, though there is not much more than boutique/speciality retail anywhere these days.
South Florida has some real charms.