Well-planned retail must be integral part of urban development.

Through a convergence of economic and social influences, many of New York's inner-ring suburban cities are undergoing a renaissance. New Rochelle, White Plains, Yonkers and Stamford are among the cities where public and private funds are being invested to improve retail main streets, upgrade parks and other recreational facilities, and encourage new cultural, entertainment and educational development, as well as mass transit and highway improvements.

Well-planned retail environments will be an integral part of creating and sustaining this new economic vitality. While we will not see an end of regional mega-malls or big-box retail environments, nor a lessening of interest in budding destination entertainment complexes linked to retailing, all of which are justified by population density in the New York Metropolitan area, there is also a smaller scale retail trend: creating a sense of community in urban redevelopment projects where the right mix of retailers is a critical component.

The retail aspect of this new ideal is a return to what might be called the neighborhood shopkeeper, a familiar figure in the type of small towns that dominated the American landscape prior to World War H and pre-dated post-war development that is characterized by random suburban sprawl and the need to drive a car to access shops and services.

In today's new master-planned communities, there is a specific plan to create balance where shops, homes, services, transportation, recreational, social and educational facilities are all an integral part of the fabric of every day living and ideally within walking distance.

The resurgence of new village-type neighborhoods, supported by retail environments, taps into the desire to return to a time of easier lifestyles, as well as experience improved quality of life. It is also in synch with major socio-economic trends.

Estimates are that one-third of the American workforce telecommutes all or part of the work week, and that 16 percent of the population is presently self-employed or independent contractors. Work space and home space is becoming the same space, and communications are happening in real time. New developments must take into account statistics like these, which in housing, create the need for flexible live/work space, and in retailing, create demand for new types of retail services.

In order to accommodate the growing home-based workforce, copy shops, takeout gourmet fare, office supplies and local business banking centers, to name but a few, must be added to the traditional mix of supermarkets, dry cleaners, video stores, wine shops, clothing stores, gift shops, convenience stores, hair salons and others that, to date, form the nucleus of suburban retail environments.

At Collins Enterprises waterfront development in Yonkers, live/work apartments and rental apartments are complemented by a modern composite of retail, restaurant and convenience, and specialty shops in strategic building locations, as well as offices for professional services. This mixed-use development has been designed to create an urban waterfront village that will function as a balanced community, within which well-planned retailing and entertainment will be a key to generating viability, character and, ultimately, success.

Retailing in the future will take many forms. Interestingly, as we move forward into the realm of computer catalogs, on-line ordering and other forms of electronic commerce, we are also taking a step back in by recreating the convenience and pleasures of the familiar neighborhood shopkeeper who is an integral, known, contributing part of the larger community.