Shopping mall in my Davis neighborhood

In the last couple of years, the area around my neighborhood has been slowly developing into a shopping center. It all started with Target, then a Chase bank opened across the street, and now it’s about to grow into a full-blown strip mall with a brand new TJ Maxx and many new un-named stores.

While I am not going to protest these new changes, I do not like them.

Some might say I am a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), but that’s not it. I am not opposed to them being built in my backyard, I am opposed to them being built period.

I understand that this narrow view may hinder economic and social progress. I know many people choose to bring these shopping malls into their towns and cities for economic and convenience purposes, and that’s fine by me. I also understand the inherent hypocrisy in my position because I am a frequent patron to many of these places.

But I personally want to live in a community with like minded people who do not care for these types of businesses. I frankly don’t believe many of us would miss them if they were gone, or only existed in communities where people welcome this type of establishment.

They bring with them a lot of traffic, noise, and trash. While for some people this trade off is welcomed, I personally would much rather pay extra taxes to offset any economic incentives they may bring into the community. And as for the convenience of having them close by, well — we already solved that problem with Amazon.