Urban Sprawl and Small BusinessOver the past 15 years, I have watched my once-rural hometown, Washington Township, transform into a maze of single-family subdivisions and shopping centers . This type of growth has not been kind to the local economy, especially small businesses. Stores such as Mom and Pop Hardware, a local mainstay for many decades, were forced to close their doors due to the construction of two Home Depots and a Lowe's within a two-mile radius of Main Street. of the city. This negative aspect of urban sprawl is a trend that has been repeated nationally in recent years. Large chain stores, or big box stores, are a phenomenon that has spread across the country and exploded in popularity in recent years. Monster chain stores, such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Target, Kmart and Best Buy, contribute to this phenomenon. The success of these stores depends on the saturation of the retail market in the areas where they are built. For example, Wal-Mart's store placement strategy is such that in urban areas, stores are placed within a 10-mile radius of each other and a 30-mile radius is created in rural areas. (sprawl-busters.com/hometown.html) The density of store locations may vary depending on the presence of competitors in the area. By saturating the market, these stores undercut their competitors and make it virtually impossible for their smaller competitors to survive, or even get started in a free market economy. In addition to their planning strategy for market domination, big box stores have other attributes. which are difficult to compete with. These attributes are attractive to the consumer, but come at a detrimental price....... middle of paper......, these cornerstones are becoming a dying breed. Although progress cannot be stopped, we must hope that ideas like downtowns can catch on and save our small businesses.References:1. http://www.sharbell.com/washington/washmain.htm: Sharbell is the developer building downtown Washington.2. http://www.sprawl-busters.com/hometown.html: “America, his hometown, is fighting back. » « A citizen's point of view on Home Depot: the orange wars. »3. www.reason.com/9505/NICKwalmart.may.shtml: “Do Wal-Mart and Home Depot spell the end of community? »4. www.nlcnet.org: Website of the National Labor Committee.5. www.tradelocal.org/arts/wrongwal.html: “What's Wrong With Wal-Mart? » 19996. www.lawmall.com/rpa/chap1.html: “Surviving the Mega-Store Invasion: The Impact of Mega-Retail Chains on Urban, Suburban, and Rural Economies”