The Irish government has made permanent a temporary cap on the size of retail stores in effect since 1998. The new law restricts stores in the Dublin area to 3,500 square meters (38,000 sq. ft.) and applies a 3,000 square meter (32,000 sq. ft.) limit to the rest of the country. The policy also requires that new retail stores be located in town centers. … Read More
At a hearing held in mid-November, residents of New Rochelle, New York were finally given an opportunity to comment on a proposed 308,000 square foot Ikea furniture store. They gave city officials an earful. More than 400 people packed City Hall, while hundreds more stood outside. So many wished to testify that the city was forced to extend the hearings over five nights, taking 18 hours of testimony from more than 200 residents. All but a handful opposed the project. … Read More
Small business owners and neighborhood activists were elated in November when Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy decided to drop his controversial downtown redevelopment plan. The $522 million project involved demolishing 60 historic buildings and condemning 120 mostly locally owned businesses. In their place, Murphy sought to build a massive retail complex, anchored by a Nordstrom department store and several dozen national chains. … Read More
In December, representatives of the 29 states participating in the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) approved model legislation that they hope state legislatures will adopt this year. If enacted, the legislation would move states one step closer to a sales tax system that applies equally to both traditional and electronic retailers. A US Supreme Court ruling bars states from requiring remote sellers, including mail order and internet companies, to collect sales tax. … Read More
In an effort to raise funds, thousands of public schools are encouraging parents and neighbors to shop on-line. More than a dozen new companies, such as Schoolpop.com and SchoolCash.com, have created web portals that enable users to shop a hundreds of on-line retailers. … Read More
National retail chains frequently use charitable giving as a tool for overcoming local opposition to their expansion plans. Facing strong resistance in Western Branch, Virginia, Wal-Mart ran ads in the local paper touting the $200,000 it had given to local causes. In Auburn, California, Home Depot made charitable contributions a focal point of its campaign to overcome the community’s long-standing opposition to big box stores. … Read More
Published in 2000, The Hometown Advantage examines the impacts of chain retailers and provides a guide to reviving your community’s local economy. … Read More
If you’ve always wanted to be an activist but stayed away because of the bad food and long hours, there’s good news. A group called SlowFood has taken up the cause of local cuisine and is defending it against everything from hyper-hygienic policies to the homogenizing influence of mass distribution. Their organizing strategy: sit down and enjoy a delicious, leisurely meal. By Stacy Mitchell… Read More
Two years ago, a group of independent restaurant owners in Tucson, Arizona stopped thinking of themselves as competitors and launched a collective effort to counter the rapid expansion of chain restaurants. They formed an organization, Tucson Originals, and pooled resources for group promotion and purchasing. Their success inspired the creation of a national independent restaurant network that hopes to seed similar local alliances in cities across the country. … Read More
