Program on Global Environment - College Research Fellow

Project: Does Main Street Have a Future? Reconsidering Retail in the Era of Chain Stores and E-Commerce

Principal Investigator/Supervisor: Professor Emily Talen, Division of Social Sciences

Project Dates: November 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019

Deadline: October 28, 2018

Neighborhood-based retail used to play an active role in the life of urban neighborhoods. In many cities, a variety of factors, including most recently online shopping, have contributed to the long decline of small, independent retail establishments, rendering, according to some critics, Jane Jacobs’ vision of activated street life via small business ownership a nostalgic illusion. Scholars, however, have long recognized that neighborhood-based services are essential for neighborhood stability. Neighborhoods that have been able to provide local services and facilities – small groceries and other outlets serving daily life needs – have been shown to be more stable, often with a higher sense of community and an ability to promote social networks of interdependence.

What is the perspective of small retailers on these changes? To better understand the perspective of retailers, we are conducting a survey that evaluates the current status and viability of existing retail in Chicago that is small, independent, and neighborhood-based. So far, 35 surveys have been completed.

The goal of the survey is to elucidate the current status and future prospects of what has been known as “main street,” assessing varying approaches that are now being attempted in an effort to sustain neighborhood-serving retail, and gaining a better understanding of how the successes and failures of these varied approaches can be evaluated. Is neighborhood-based retail still viable?

Students will visit pre-selected stores throughout Chicago to conduct interviews of shop-owners or employees. The interview questionnaire is short and focuses on store owner/employee perspectives on business climate, neighborhood context, and policies that positively or negatively impact their business. Students will be expected to summarize their findings.

Students will need to have an open-ness to approaching small business owners/employees and asking them questions about their business and their neighborhoods. Students will not be asked to enter any business that they are not 100% comfortable with. All business locations are close to CTA train line stops. Students will be given CTA passes for travel.

This project requires students who are energetic, personable, can navigate on the CTA, and are not shy about approaching small business owners or employees. Students should have some familiarity with Chicago. The ideal student for this project is one who is enthusiastic about urbanism and the role of small business in street life and neighborhood quality. No technical skills are required.