Downtown in the Zoo

1. The downtown business area of Kalamazoo was surprisingly comfortable. The stores, crowd, and, in general, the atmosphere all made one feel very at ease when walking around on the streets. In terms of design, the different stores seemed to vary from a shop to a restaurant to a shop, and continued in this pattern for some time on Burdick Street. I also noticed that numerous stores were unknown to me, and were not large retail chains. Most were small, unique businesses including the restaurants. As for the design of the streets, the massive sidewalks made shopping very convenient. The brick pavement in some areas made for a very nice touch, although Mr. Underhill would disagree.

2. Three things I would recommend to improve the downtown would be to clean the sidewalks, modernize benches and picnic tables, and make the police station, or at least officers, more visible. First, the sidewalks were filthy. Obviously the city of Kalamazoo does not own a power washer and if they do, then they do not use it on these sidewalks. They were filthy with gum and debris. Secondly, the picnic tables were wood as well as some benches, these are harder to clean, and also harder to maintain. A wise investment would be either a form of plastic, or the rubber coated metal you find at many parks. Both of these would make cleaning much easier, and would look less weather beaten. Lastly, the police station is hidden from sight in the back corner of the outdoor mall. It is not seen from the main areas of the mall, and I did not see a single officer during my visit. I feel that it is necessary to make one of the two visible to aid in comforting shoppers.

3. “Fear of crime is one of the things that keep them away, and grimy sidewalks are one of many signs that hint at disorder, in Gibbs's view.” Mr. Gibbs makes a point that one must feel like they are in a safe, orderly environment when shopping. This is very true, and two of the things he points out, relate to the things I mention in the above paragraph. First, fear of crime, relates to the absence of the officers when I visited the outdoor mall. Secondly, dirty sidewalks give a sense of disorder, but also of minimal upkeep, and give one a taste of a less affluent area. This can also turn away shoppers.