If you'll forgive the pretentious trailing 'e' then Alameda Towne Center is a nifty place. It's exactly what a shopping area in California should be like.
Now, I think it was very short-sighted of the powers that be not to let Target do any expansion on the empty building where Safeway used to be (before Safeway moved to its much much bigger quarters). Instead they hit an impasse, Target walked, and that building stays empty. But on balance Alameda has worked out very nicely.
I feel very fortunate to be within walking distance of all our errands, and across the street from San Francisco Bay. The main difference between our life and the modern urban planner's ideal is that we hardly ever use public transportation. But it's not like we drive around the island a lot either: I drive to and from work (8.2 miles each way; a comparable Tulsa commute would be 51st & Sheridan to downtown -- since obviously everyone who reads this knows their Tulsa geography cold). We drive to A's games (4.8 miles, at least until the move) and to {SF, Berkeley, or points south}.
In any case I was reading about this heinous crime, and even though I have nothing but contempt for the terrorists in question, I'm still quite relieved not to live in a distant suburb, even a "rural cluster."
Posted by Matt Bruce at March 4, 2008 12:24 PM