you know when you're on a road trip and you see food here next exit so you get off the interstate and it's so easy to find those golden arches there are no complicated Maneuvers after you exit to find fast food you walk into the golden arch chain and you just know exactly how the store is laid out there are no quirks it's predictable and familiar if I were to go to a McDonald's in Denver where the landscape is drastically different than that of the Florida Everglades I still have the exact same experience now this video isn't about fast food instead I am trying to answer the burning question why does every place in America look the same it's true American spaces have become homogenized which in this video I want to refer to as mcdonaldized so badly but to be honest I don't want to get sued so let's just call it sameness in a nutshell this sameness found in any Town USA is caused by three major factors that all collectively contribute to to a landscape where differences are eroded in favor of a more predictable environment let's start by tackling the big whale chain stores and restaurants American cities and towns have become absolutely dominated by national chain stores and restaurants in 1962 big box stores like Walmart Target Kmart began opening Across America on average about 14 existing retail businesses shut down within 15 months of a new Walmart store opening Walmart has been the the number one retailer in the United States and has held the highest grossing retail title for 6 years running Walmart alone had the revenue of $611 billion in 2023 large chain stores overshadow small businesses because the architectural design of chain stores are standardized and designed to be recognizable it results in a ubiquitous presence that displaces unique Local Charm think of food stores too like McDonald's and Starbucks from the 198 0s onward McDonald's expanded aggressively reaching its 10,000th store in 1990 these expansions driven by global brand recognition made it tough for local restaurants to compete independent establishments which are usually more aligned with human scales contribute positively to the variety and appeal of Street Scapes on the other hand the design of chain restaurants often prioritize drive-throughs consumers have inadvertently favored this isolated approach to eating out encouraging chains to develop Standalone locations this brings up a second reason why every place in America looks the same standardized real estate development practices developers find it financially advantageous to replicate successful architectural plans and Designs this practice has been applied across various sectors by using repeatable design templates developers streamline construction processes and reduce cost by up to 15% mixed use developments which integrate residential commercial and parking have surged in popularity following these significant changes to the international building code in 2009 today's mix use buildings are typically constructed as Podium buildings the podium or 5 over one method it involves stacking woodframe residential units above a concrete Podium base typically reserved for commercial use this approach is very costeffective compared to traditional steel and concrete con ruction in 2008 the Woodworks Wood Products Council demonstrated substantial cost savings When comparing a 5tory Podium building with the wood frames over a concrete Podium to the same building this time constructed entirely with conrete no wood the analysis showed a savings of $67 per square foot this translates to nearly 6.7 million for a 100,000 ft building corporate ownership of residential rental prop properties also surged substantially since the 2008 financial crisis with so many homes foreclosed upon investment groups bought up properties at a discount developers grew in scale and in capital with the power of these companies bundled with the desire for very quick builds it streamlined construction and we are managed by corporate landlords making a huge departure from traditional home ownership models but that's another video topic for later i' would also like to butt in here and announced that I do have a podcast right now it's unraveling design you can listen to it anywhere you stream your podcasts thanks historically humans lived in walkable cities for thousands of years in America there are now just paid for curated experiences like Walt Disney Epcot Main Street USA that evoke this same idealized feeling of walkable American towns it's weird postwar time led to to white middle class families moving to the suburbs backed by automobile ownership the GI Bill the white flight phenomenon along with the fear of industrial pollution Suburban developments were heavily reliant on driving which brings me to my next point this shift was in part facilitated by standardized larger scale urban planning efforts in the early 20th century America began standardizing its urban planning heavily influenced by the city beautiful movement after after the 1893 world's Colombian Exposition in Chicago planners sought to beautify cities like Washington DC Cleveland by adopting this neoclassical Civic Center style and also creating Open Spaces to combat overcrowding from industrialization while this movement aimed to enhance cities it led to a sameness as many Urban centers adopted similar neoclassical designs replacing the architectural diversity that once characterized R various American cities and towns this practice also got very expensive due to its ornamented quality so it was phased out pretty quickly we should also talk about Federal policies decades ago there was a push to develop Suburbia the federal housing Administration established in 1934 promoted uniform Suburban developments favoring single family homes developers like William levit exemplified this trend Levits houses were famously identical creating whole neighbor neighborhoods that were indistinguishable from one another we're now in the third generation of Suburbia and a lot of those initial issues still remain unresolved issues like isolation carbon emissions habitat destruction and lack of cultural diversity with the 1950s federal aid Highway Act signed by President Eisenhower the development of interstate highway system was authorized further facilitating suburban sprawl and neglecting public transit options influenced by powerful automobile and oil lobbies these urban planning decisions shifted attention away from dense Urban centers the third reason as to why spaces in America really look the same is cultural and globalization media and culture play a huge role in diluting identities look at how popularized the modern Farmhouse aesthetic has become shows like fixer upper Hometown and property brothers on HGTV showcase this aesthetic often I'm sure you've seen a bunch of Renovations online kind of transform historic homes into this modern Farmhouse aesthetic homeowners across the states adopted this style which in turn LED developers and Builders to mass-produce the modern Farmhouse design social media also plays a huge role media influence isn't just a modern-day influence it existed in times of suburbanization media and news influenced families stating Suburban living was the epitome of the American dream a safe tranquil environment ideal for raising families and I can do my drawing in any kind of weather with a gas dryer it couldn't be easier I remember seeing this washer in the magazine as films like Mr blandings build his dream home from 1948 starring Carrie Grant showed a couple escaping their cramped Manhattan apartment for the charm of Connecticut where they constructed their perfect Suburban home globalization during the 1920s the landscape of modern amenities was rapidly changing Charles lindberg's solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 played a pivotal role in spurring the growth of the airline industry marking the beginning strides toward globalization this expansion meant that multinational corporations could extend their reach standardizing products it became common regardless of where the market was located this era heralded a shift from where local conditions determined the availability and innovation of a product let's say we're in Alaska and you're in a Starbucks there cuz I'm sure they have one there you wouldn't be able to get a strawberry refresher because that is a location where strawberries weren't locally sourced however globalization broke down these natural barriers enabling Brands to maintain uniform offerings regardless of the local environment's constraints moreover this trend of uniformity is not confined to American soil and has transversed International borders the best example I could think of is international chain hotels like Marriott Hilton and hayatt you understand what you're getting when you book AO with them it is the genius of their hotel business model they have found that by standardizing the experience it offers a sense of comfort to The Traveler so in a nutshell America encourages the sameness but so do we consumers want convenience but keep in mind we also pay a higher price than what the sticker tells us and that is one of sameness if you liked this video please be sure to check out my video on third places and their decline