The idea of a commercial space aping the design of a city is somewhat familiar when it comes to the suburban shopping mall. Malls were famously designed after urban downtowns or shopping districts. The big-box discount store, on the other hand—with its exposed steel ceiling, utter lack of ornamentation and warehouse atmosphere—makes no pretensions. So it is striking that even in such a utilitarian setting, and such a quintessentially suburban one, the old urban DNA still survives.
I genuinely believe the Walton family knew this. They knew the classic American town/city was transforming into a desolate car-centric hellscape and saw an opportunity to capitalize on it and mimic the walkability. Consumerist walkability but you have to sit in 30 minute traffic in order to experience walkability. What a backwards ass society we live in here.
It's like driving to the gym to run on the treadmill, except far worse