For example... Miyajima is a beautiful place where as well as the locals (humans, deer and monkeys) you will find a very successful examples of street planning, some of which will lead you through a charming journey against beautiful backdrops and plenty of photo opportunities.
Others provide a masterclass on seamless interaction between businesses and visitors. If you analyse it pragmatically, the ultimate purpose is not much different from that of the duty free at the airport. (You know, that zone where you walk among open shops while you head towards your flight). The differences however are vital:
In Miyajima, they have the speciality strategy (i.e. each business produces heir own recipe/ version of a product which makes them unique). The hierarchy of uses: open units (shops) and closed units (restaurants) which determine whether you can move along or stay put.
There are also the roofs which vary in line with the width of the streets (check the pics). Over the wide streets, they provide fabric sails while over the narrow ones they rely on the buildings on each side to provide a solution.
And of course, the openness and sky, because if something can make shopping an almost bearable experience is oxygen.
As a result of the above, the shops are full, the restaurants have queues and I have never heard anyone suck their teeth.
