Reports and Studies
Informative documents for consumers and businesses about the benefits of shopping locally.
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Articles
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Big Boxes in Our Town?
Great short report by the retail analysis firm Civic Economics.
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Boston Main Streets
New Orleans hopes to use the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street model in districts suffering from disinvestment and deteriorated building stock to bring merchants, owners, city officials and residents together to build an organization and workplan to reverse their prospects. Learn how Boston did just that.
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Commentary: When a Giant Retailer Moves On, It Leaves its ‘Big Box’ Behind
Corporate chains reinvent themselves every 10 years or so, which often means abandoning locales that do not fit the new model.
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How Big is Too Big?
A visual illustration of various store sizes.
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Independent Businesses, Unite!
By forming alliances, independent businesses can regain their central role in our economy – by Stacy Mitchell, InBusiness
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Preventing Vacant Boxes
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Responding to Critics of Local First
‘Bookselling This Week’ offers a brief article that outlines common arguments against supporting local businesses and how they are easily refuted.
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San Diego City Council Blocks Wal-Mart
The San Diego City Council voted in late November to ban certain giant retail stores, dealing a blow to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.‘s potential to expand in the nation’s eight-largest city.
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The Benefits of Doing Business Locally
Local officials often fall for the seductions and political appeal of luring new national chains…but they often fail to consider the greater losses that occur when the local business base is undermined.
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The Ithaca Journal
An additional $16 million would flow into the regional economy if everyone in Tompkins County devoted 10 percent of their food purchases to local products.
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