I've spent a lot of time in Naperville and I have to agree - strip malls and yuppified shopping pretty much define it. fairviewroad, the urban core is much like many other midsize American cities, but those places probably are full of strip malls and yuppified shopping too.

This is not necessarily a bad thing! For example, Naperville is a nice place to raise children because the schools are good and the crime rate is negligible. It's close enough to Chicago that you can go there at will to enjoy it, and far enough away that you can ignore the hustle and bustle of the city if you want.