Interesting. Really, the more I think about it, the more I'm dissapointed in the OP. Yes, I totally agree with OP that mid-rise 2-4 stories of residential over ground level of retail is a great livable urban design, and it would be a huge mistake to do anything to discourage or prevent this.
The question is -- what are the constraints on what that looks like, what is it exactly that people are saying they don't like about "5 over 1", let's compare to various historical ways of building several stories of residentail over a ground floor of retail, let's look at what the cost factors and constraints are here, let's compare different cities, let's think about what sort of building codes might lead to different designs, etc.
I want that article!
(To be fair, plenty of new construction in Chicago is pretty bad too. I think that second picture I posted above of residential-over-retail is a pretty ugly and street-unfriendly building, although it gives everyone a front-facing balcony that presumably raised the value of those presumably condos. looks like a parking garage. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.962424,-87.6661565,3a,75y,26... )
The question is -- what are the constraints on what that looks like, what is it exactly that people are saying they don't like about "5 over 1", let's compare to various historical ways of building several stories of residentail over a ground floor of retail, let's look at what the cost factors and constraints are here, let's compare different cities, let's think about what sort of building codes might lead to different designs, etc.
I want that article!
(To be fair, plenty of new construction in Chicago is pretty bad too. I think that second picture I posted above of residential-over-retail is a pretty ugly and street-unfriendly building, although it gives everyone a front-facing balcony that presumably raised the value of those presumably condos. looks like a parking garage. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.962424,-87.6661565,3a,75y,26... )