From centuries old to brilliantly new, a stroll down any of the capital's high streets provides a glorious miscellany of history and design. For shops are no longer just somewhere we buy things you can do that virtually, these days - but places we gather inspiration, browse for creativity and happen upon special objects. This compendium of London's 100 most interesting stores, restaurants and cafes pairs original photography with insights into the sites' past lives and the artistic thinking behind their distinct exteriors and unique signage, as well as insider's tips on exactly when and why to visit now.

A collection of Eleanor Crow's beautiful watercolours of classic shopfronts. Published in partnership with Spitalfields Life Books, this timely volume celebrates the small neighbourhood shops of London. As our high streets decline into generic monotony, we cherish these independent shops and family businesses that enrich the city with their characterful frontages and distinctive typography. This collection includes more than 100 of Eleanor Crow's fine illustrations of the capital's bakers, cafes, butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers, chemists, launderettes, hardware stores, eel & pie shops, bookshops and stationers. The pictures are accompanied by the stories of the shops, their history and their shopkeepers – stretching all the way from Chelsea in the west to Bethnal Green, Clerkenwell and Walthamstow in the east. As well as beloved old and lost shopfronts, there are some recent examples of new shops that have been beautifully designed too – from cheesemongers to chippies. At a time of momentous change in the high street, this witty and fascinating personal survey champions the enduring culture of Britain's small shops.

Presenting a critical and theoretical dimension to retail design, Boutiques and Other Retail Spaces links the ideas behind it to real practice in this innovative and important contribution to architectural/interior theory literature. Retail structure has been subject to a dramatic and ongoing transformation over the past thirty years, materializing in the emergence of large-scale out-of-town shopping centres and new specialized shops in city centres. These specialized boutiques are highly designed, involving well-known architectural firms such as OMA/Rem Koolhaas, David Chipperfield, Herzog + de Meuron amongst others. With case studies and over 100 black and white images, Vernet and de Wit set forth original and well-grounded theory to accompany this popular and lucrative area of work.

"I am going to write every single day and tell you about my life here in Spitalfields at the heart of London..." Drawing comparisons with Pepys, Mayhew and Dickens, the gentle author of Spitalfields Life has gained an extraordinary following in recent years, by writing hundreds of lively pen portraits of the infinite variety of people who live and work in the East End of London. Everything you seek in London can be found here - street life, street art, markets, diverse food, immigrant culture, ancient houses and history, pageants and parades, rituals and customs, traditional trades and old family businesses. Spend a night in the bakery at St John, ride the rounds with the Spitalfields milkman, drop in to the Golden Heart for a pint, meet a fourth-generation paper bag seller, a mudlark who discovers treasure in the river Thames, a window cleaner who sees ghosts and a master bell-founder whose business started in 1570. Join the bunny girls for their annual reunion, visit the wax sellers of Wentworth Street and discover the site of Shakespeare's first theatre. All of human life is here in Spitalfields Life.

Shopping centers have become the most common of shopping environments and have influenced the make-up of cities around the world. However, in recent years, the enclosed "mall" has evolved and diversified with new types of retail environments that were developed to better suit their locale and meet public expectation. This design guide has over 600 illustrations that present the core values and considerations that make a successful retail center: location, catchment user needs, as well as access and layout. Covering everything from site master planning to the essentials of public facilities and the technical systems, this is essential reading for architects of contemporary shopping centers. A series of international examples showcasing different types of shopping environments are included to cover the wide range of designs that have occurred in recent years. From the "out of town" mall to retail parks and mixed use town center developments, the best of contemporary design is illustrated to provide both practical information and inspiration.