The suburban sprawl of large malls, at the scale of Lausanne's conurbation, had an evident effect on spatial everyday practices of inhabitants and users of the central and peri-central districts while has increased the length and frequency of journeys. Mediation in the parameters that influence both the locally based services and the quality of public spaces could contribute to intensify urbanity. The main goal of this article is to explore how locally based retailing enhances urbanity, and takes part in urban intensity, and in the livability of public space. How can we integrate urban policies related to retail markets within a context of sustainable urban design? The new retail policies could become an extremely helpful planning tool, oriented towards true neighborhood proximity centralities both residentially and economically attractive.