Over the past 100 or so issues we’ve tried our hand at conjuring up everything from the perfect airliner to the ideal hotel. Very early on we tackled the perfect high street and considered how we’d organise it and who we’d like to see pulling down the awnings and putting out the benches every morning. The first time we did this (see issue 55) we had many thoughts about what did and didn’t work in many a shopping precinct but we had little in the way of first-hand experience of running shops. Twelve shops and cafés later, we have a much firmer grip on what makes for the perfect mix and where many developers and landlords are getting it wrong. With considerable focus on the impact of e-commerce to traditional retail and the disappearance of solid anchor tenants (banks and post offices, for example), there’s plenty to worry about – but we’d also argue there’s everything to play for. Let’s take a walk along our perfect little stretch of pavement and find out why it works.

The setting
Our hypothetical neighbourhood could be in a smart part of Melbourne or an emerging area of Geneva (really, there is such a place!). It’s a district that has plenty of residences but also enough offices and service businesses to ensure a brisk trade at lunch hours and after work. There isn’t one landlord that dominates but a collection of property owners of varying scale. What makes the area work is a strong business and residents’ association that’s focused on the ongoing development of the community and works to a strong set of guidelines.

Landlords who get it
Some landlords understand the metabolism of the street and the importance of supporting essential services versus profit and have a nose for when leases shouldn’t be renewed or when a tenant might need some rent relief. Unfortunately there aren’t very many with such a feel for their portfolio. Recently one of our landlords wanted to push through a rent increase while many stores around us had closed and our once-vibrant neighbourhood started to falter. While the person managing the asset was aware of the number of “to let” signs she’d taped to various storefronts she was still blind to the fact that there was a serious problem that had everything to do with rents that were out of whack and a decline in footfall as a result. It took a bit too much convincing to outline the larger problem but we got there in the end and now shops are reopening and trade has bounced back. Good landlords walk the street and speak to their tenants and don’t simply manage portfolios via email from a distant tower.

Cluster funked
Walk into many a mall or down certain streets and you’ll find you’re in a cluster of teen-fashion shops, surrounded by mobile-phone providers or in a luxury jungle. While certain trades have gathered together for millennia, sticking everything in one spot is formulaic. Smart streets need a balance of high and low, old and new – and they should always surprise. Good retail streets mix food and fashion, hammers and handbags, and give shoppers a variety of reasons to linger. It’s also why there’s a crisis at US department stores – they’ve gone too far down the fashion and beauty path and lost their position of one-stop convenience.

Right size, right time
The biggest issue confronting many shopping districts is that retail spaces are often no longer fit for purpose. Advances in logistics mean many shopkeepers don’t need to hold as much stock and therefore shouldn’t be paying for all that excess storage space. Likewise, more specialisation often means fewer square metres are required on the shop floor. Back to department stores: is it not time to see major brands scaling down while branching out? Isetan is trying some new formats in Japan that get them closer to the consumer with a more edited mix.

Big boys work harder
The world’s biggest retailers take a lot of flack for driving up prices and offering mediocre formats. There’s some truth to this but it’s also up to developers and landlords to keep things interesting and to challenge the h&ms and Uniqlos to deliver more. To keep things fresh there needs to be a more fluid conversation to challenge existing formats while also offering services that help build community and keep the tills humming.

Built to “last”
Finally, a few words that landlords and tenants might want to live by. You can have all the best names and gleaming sidewalks you want but it may add up to a complete dead zone if you don’t follow monocle’s “build it to last” rule. The best shopping districts feature warm, inviting lighting when the sun dips; awnings for shade and keeping energy bills low; seating for mingling and resting; and trees for air quality, shadows and texture.