Shade
Public restrooms
Pedestrianized Streets
Small Concept Drug Stores/Bodegas
Spacious Public Transit
I’m from the UK but the big one I agree with even here is Shade - really wish kids parks had much more shade built in to their design.
also I agree with the bodega thing. When I lived on military bases we had a thing called a BX Lite (which was the smaller version of the BX (stands for Base eXchange), which was where you went to buy groceries, clothes, appliances, technology, etc.). It was literally just a corner store where you could buy snacks, beer, soda, small utensils and appliances. Some of them were gas stations too on some bases I was at, but a few of them were standalone stores. I was disappointed when I moved off base to discover that wasn’t really a thing elsewhere. The city I live in currently only has a half dozen stores like that and the only one that’s near me is a 7/11. A lot are gas stations also, which isn’t necessarily bad but it doesn’t really feel pedestrian friendly.
In the UK the “corner shop” is very common. Most people have a little shop in easy walking distance to pick up those bits and bobs that they may need between the larger “weekly shop”
It never really occurred to me before how much we rely on them and inconvenient it would be if they weren’t around. Yes whatever you buy there is going to be over priced compared to a supermarket but that’s understandable.
if you’d like to read entirely too many words on shade in this context, Shade: An Urban Design Mandate is fascinating
Just read the beginning and it’s already really interesting. Added it to my list to read through properly. Thank you for the suggestion
That was a great article, thanks for the link