Shops with homes above: why towns need it and how it works

Real world Why mix homes and shops?

For most of history, people lived above or behind their workplaces. In the 20th century many cities separated homes from shops and offices with zoning rules. Today many planners are bringing back the mix.

In 1961 the writer Jane Jacobs argued that lively, safe streets need "eyes on the street": people coming and going at different times of day, shopkeepers watching the sidewalk, residents looking out of windows. Mixed-use buildings help create that.

Shops on the ground floor with homes above, on Hudson Street in New York. Photo: Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Real world What it does for a neighborhood

Residents can walk downstairs to buy food or see a doctor.
Shops get customers living right above them.
Streets stay busy and feel safer in the evening.
Fewer car trips are needed, cutting traffic and pollution.

A new mixed-use building in Minneapolis with a grocery store below and apartments above. Photo: Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Real world How they are built

The ground floor usually has tall ceilings and large windows for shopfronts. Above, the structure changes to smaller rooms for homes. Builders must separate the two uses with fire-resistant floors and soundproofing, and give homes their own entrance and escape stairs.

Art In this artwork

This illustration shows awnings over the shops and windows of the homes above.

Look closer

Find the shop awnings and the homes above them.
Where is the door to the apartments?

Think about it

What are the benefits of living above shops? Are there downsides?
What shops would you want under your home?
Why might a busy street feel safer than an empty one?

Key words

Mixed-use: Combining homes, shops and work in one place.
Eyes on the street: Jane Jacobs's idea that watchful people make streets safer.
Shopfront: The front of a shop facing the street.