Shops as the bricks and mortar of place identity

“Think of a city and what comes to mind?” asks Jane Jacobs (1961: 29). “Its streets. If a city’s streets look interesting, the city looks interesting; if they look dull, the city looks dull.” In our opinion, Jacobs should have answered: its commercial streets. Indeed, on Jacobs’ ideal street, small shops attract a diversity of people who use the public space and interact