Brandon Berry

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Brain, David

Keywords

Community, Built Form, Big Box, Retail, Neighborhood, Access

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

Past research has shown that residents of moderate-density urban and suburban regions prefer communities with a localized sense of place. Neighborhoods with strong local identity tend to exhibit greater resilience and lower rates of disorder. However, the ability to develop that place is often restrained by other, more immediate needs, such as access to critical resources. This research focuses on two neighborhoods with different demographic makeups and their reaction to the opening of a nationally-owned neighborhood supermarket. Prior to the start of this study, both neighborhoods had been lacking a full-scale grocery store within their boundaries for two years. While both neighborhoods were relatively unenthusiastic in their response to the store, homeowners and long-term residents on average were more critical of the store as a sign of positive growth for their neighborhood than short-term or renting residents. Middle income residents were also significantly more positive in their response to the store as best use of the space where it was built than high income residents. While mild, these findings suggest that current level of access to resources and the level of neighborhood investment may have an impact on how likely residents are to accept new, non-local developments into their neighborhoods.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida Libraries, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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