---
title: "Web of Shopping (19)"
created: 2026-07-01
updated: 2026-07-01
type: concept
status: compiled
namespace: pattern-language
pattern_number: 19
pattern_name: "Web of Shopping"
source_repository: https://github.com/zenodotus280/apl-md
source_url: https://github.com/zenodotus280/apl-md/blob/master/Patterns/Web%20of%20Shopping%20%2819%29.md
license_note: Non-commercial reuse with attribution; see namespace README and source LICENSE.md.
related_patterns:
  - "Mosaic of Subcultures (8)"
  - "Subculture Boundary (13)"
  - "Scattered Work (9)"
  - "Local Transport Areas (11)"
  - "Magic of the City (10)"
  - "Promenade (31)"
  - "Shopping Street (32)"
  - "Market of Many Shops (46)"
  - "Corner Grocery (89)"
---

# Web of Shopping (19)

> Source pattern from the abridged `apl-md` corpus. Use as a design reference and constraint seed; do not treat as commercial-clean training data.

### Problem
>Shops rarely place themselves in those positions which best serve the people’s needs, and also guarantee their own stability.

### Solution
>When you locate any individual shop, follow a three-step procedure:
>1. Identify all other shops which offer the service you are interested in; locate them on a map.
>2. Identify and map the location of potential consumers. Wherever possible, indicate the density or total number of potential consumers in any given area.
>3. Look for the biggest gap in the existing web of shops in those areas where there are potential consumers.
>4. Within the gap in the web of similar shops, locate your shop next to the largest cluster of other kinds of shops.

### Related Patterns
... This pattern defines a piecemeal process which can help to locate shops and services where they are needed, in such a way that they will strengthen the [[Mosaic of Subcultures (8)]], [[Subculture Boundary (13)]], and the decentralized economy needed for [[Scattered Work (9)]] and [[Local Transport Areas (11)]].

We estimate, that under the impact of this rule, a web of shopping with the following overall characteristics will emerge:

|                               | Population | Distance Apart* |
|:----------------------------- |:----------:|:---------------:|
| [[Magic of the City (10)]]    |  300,000   |       10        |
| [[Promenade (31)]]            |   50,000   |        4        |
| [[Shopping Street (32)]]      |   10,000   |       1.8       |
| [[Market of Many Shops (46)]] |   4,000    |       1.1       |
| [[Corner Grocery (89)]]       |   1,000    |       0.5       |

``*These distances are calculated for an overall population density of 5000 per square mile. For a population density of D persons/sq.mile, divide the distances by root(D/5000)
``

---

> [!cite]- Alexander, Christopher. _A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction_. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 104
> #APL/confidence/medium
>
> #APL/Town-Patterns/Community-Networking