Santana Row

One development that has been held up as a model for new urban transformation is Santana Row in San Jose, CA. My perspective?
Well, for starters, it makes an excellent outdoor mall. Lots of great stores and restaurants, some unique concepts, and it attracts a large crowd.
It also succeeds in regards to community space. There are excellent places to gather, hang out, and perhaps hear some live music.
They've also managed to integrate housing in the form of apartments and condos.

Areas for improvement?
The shopping is not geared toward the residents at all, save the ones who would like to walk to Borders when they want to buy a book or two. No grocery, no morning cafe, no sundries, you get the picture.
They lack office space. There's some, but the vast majority of residents still need to commute in Bay Area traffic rather than walking to work.
Transit is not available. No chance of taking any sort of rail to get to work, and buses in the Bay Area still need work in terms of improving routes and removing the stigma of riding.

If I approached it with a positive mind-set, they managed to accomplish something few others pull off, and made a move in the right direction. On the cynical side, in the development process, they seem to have only gone toward what was most profitable...