In Today's Phoenix

I've written a cover story for today's Phoenix on a topic that has fascinated me for years: the lifestyle center. It is a faux Main Street - essentially the mall, gone outdoors - that raises all sorts of interesting questions about public and private space.

With the real Main Street in decline, can we really form community in a place built around brand identity? Is there something odd about living in a condo above the Gap with a view of Cold Stone Creamery? Should we be concerned that the new public square doesn't allow for anti-war protest or, even, skateboarding? Or should we be embracing a walkable, green space in the heart of sprawling suburbia?

These centers began to sprout across teh country, in significant numbers, in the early and middle part of this decade. But they are just now taking off in Rhode Island. A good time, I think, to take a look.

Also, this week, rare public comments from Tom Heslin, the executive editor of the ProJo, on the future of the troubled paper and an exhibit opening today at Brown on black gay history in Rhody from our intrepid intern Ellen Cushing.