The RPM Indoor Raceway, a high-end go-kart track, used to be housed in a renovated Wal-Mart in Round Rock, Texas, just outside of Austin. The raceway became a popular destination, particularly for people from the company across the street: Dell Computers. Though the business flourished, ultimately it could not be sustained. The raceway was a "land bank," a tenant that paid the rent and kept the site active while the owner pursued more lucrative users. It was eventually evicted when the real-estate company that owned the building had an opportunity to fill the space with national corporations that could bring in millions more in rent. It's now been developed into a strip mall that includes a Gold's Gym, a smoothie shop, and a tanning salon.

Although big-box stores may appear to have an ephemeral, disposable quality, these structures rarely just go away. They exert power over our communities long after the companies that built them have turned off the lights. Integrating these unwieldy structures into the commercial or civic life of our cities and towns requires ingenuity, but as the retail landscape of America continues to change, it is also becoming increasingly imperative.