The "parking lot in the middle" is because certain types of shoppers like having direct access to the stores they want to visit (or to feel like they do). Find where you want to go, park in front of it, and walk inside. Which is fair, to a certain extent.

But then you have the developers that just go too far and completely ignore the walkability aspects that other shoppers may enjoy.

There's a happy medium in there somewhere, it's just going to take someone willing to find it.