Is the charm of European cities due to the lack of strip malls and big box stores?

You're overthinking it. Compare populations and go from there.

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I’d rather wal marts than mosques

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No doubt. Both can be detrimental to existing cultural and architectural norms.

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Is the charm of European cities due to the lack of strip malls and big box stores?

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Uhh no. As someone who has traveled through Europe for both work and pleasure, the only draw for me is history. In no way shape or form do I find their lifestyles better than mine. Sure there are some exceptions. As the US becomes more globalist it will be harder to distinguish.

Yes. Most of the US is a parking lot. We have so few third spaces anymore. We also destroyed a lot of really wonderful examples of US architecture for these places. The City Museum in St. Louis had examples of the stonework done by masons in the Midwest, particularly Chicago, and the attention to detail and scope was amazing. Designing cities around exclusive use of the car has been beyond detrimental to Americans.

europoors don't know what they're missing out on

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Nothing charming about loading up a Ford fiesta with enough food to fit inside a dorm room fridge.

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is filling up an f150 at costco supposed to be charming?

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Here goes another poster romanticizing Europe. Nothing charming about loading up a Ford fiesta with enough food to fit inside a dorm room fridge.

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People don’t realize that the more “culture” a place has, the less receptive it is to change. There’s a reason places like TX continue to grow so fast, there’s no ‘norms’ to hold them back.

Texas has more “culture” than most states do.

I guess if you're talking about city centers/old towns but I'm sure most of those cities have big box stores elsewhere in the city proper.

The charm is the same as core neighborhoods in old US cities, and just like in those cities you'll usually find a Starbucks or some other major chain snuck in subtly to a historic building.