In conjunction with Beth Humstone's article, "Understanding Regional Retail Development," published in our Fall 2010 issue, here are some additional resources you might find of value.
Northeast Ohio Regional Retail Analysis
From the report's introduction: [This] study provides the information, analysis and strategies that public officials, private citizens and retail developers can use to enhance viability of older retail districts, mitigate the effects of new retail development, intelligently manage land development, protect environmental values and maximize the limited public resources available for infrastructure investment..
New Rules Project, Store Size Caps
This web page -- which also includes access to a downloadable "policy kit" -- is prepared by the non-profit Institute for Local Self-Reliance.
From the web site: "Dozens of communities, recognizing that their local economies can absorb only so much new retail without causing numerous existing businesses to close, have enacted zoning rules that prohibit stores over a certain size. Store size caps help to sustain the vitality of small-scale, pedestrian-oriented business districts, which in turn nurture local business development. Store size caps prevent the many negative impacts of big-box development, such as increased traffic congestion and over-burdened public infrastructure, and they protect the character of the community by ensuring that new development is at a scale in keeping with existing buildings."
Emerging Trends in Real Estate, 2010, prepared by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute (download pdf; Retail section starts on p. 49)
Brief excerpt from Retail section of 2011 report: "Two decades of consumer bingeing on easy credit fostered an overstored America -- malls, strips, big boxes, and leisure centers crowd together along every major suburban road. Does anybody know a market that needs any more retail space? Developers regroup to focus on reuse strategies -- many malls and strip centers will be bulldozed for new town center projects and mixed-use development."
The Future of Business & Retail, Smart City Radio podcast (Aug. 26, 2009).
Listen to Carol Coletta interviews Larry Weeks and Daniel Aizenman envision the shopping center of the future and discuss the relationship between physical and online stores.
-- Weeks' & Aizenman's shopping center concept was one of the entries in an International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) competition (view highlights of winning entries). As the ICSC notes: "The ICSC Future Image Architecture Competition invited participants to envision the shopping environment and architectural innovations of the future, to inspire and entertain industry professionals with out-of-the-box ideas to enhance our understanding of the shopping experience. Ideas were not limited to design and architecture; they may include any aspect -- specific or general -- of the retail continuum."
How the triple-bottom-line could save a town’s economy, article by Neil Takemoto (Oct. 21, 2010).
Interesting short article posted on the Sustainable Cities Collective web site. Excerpt from start of article: "What's happening in Bristol, Connecticut (pop. 61,000), home of ESPN, is pretty representative of small cities and towns across the country, with a vacant downtown surrounded by auto-oriented sprawl of national chains, isolated office buildings and subdivisions. What’s about to happen in Bristol however, could be seen as redefining the American Dream, and a model for other small towns to follow."
Coping With Superstores, by Constance Beaumont (download a complimentary pdf of this article).
Excerpt from article: "Many local plans and zoning ordinances actually invite sprawl and retail glut and therefore need revision. Planning laws commonly promote these problems by:
... Whether your town favors or opposes superstores, there is no doubt that such large developments will have a permanent, irrevocable impact on your community. Find the time necessary to make sure a project's various effects -- environmental, traffic, economic and social -- are thoroughly evaluated and well understood.
For a more detailed analysis by Constance Beaumont, see How Superstore Sprawl Can Harm Communities (And What Citizens Can Do About It) and Better Models for Superstores, Alternatives to Big-Box Sprawl (out of print; search online for copies)
Note: if there are other online resources you feel should be added, please let us know & we'll take a look: pcjoffice@gmail.com
