What Types of Stores are Bound for Your Neigborhood?

Much of the existing literature on Gentrification looks at what happens to residents as places change. Two authors are focusing their attention on commercial uses to better understand the interrelationship between retail and changing neighborhoods.

1 minute read

January 11, 2012, 9:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Nate Berg profiles the work of Rachel Meltzer, assistant professor at the New School, and Jenny Schuetz, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, who have published several studies intent on exploring the less understood causes and results of Gentrification.

Comparing the mix of retail choices available in affluent and impoverished areas, "It's not just about the number of establishments that are there, but how big are they, what do they look like, what products are they providing," Meltzer says. "It's about a package of services that you get in the neighborhood."

"What's included in that package may make one neighborhood more attractive to a certain type of person, or a certain type of person may make elements of that retail package seem to business owners like viable options in those neighborhoods. Which (and if) one drives the other isn't clear, and may never be."

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 in The Atlantic Cities

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Nithya Ramen talks to an older man. She is smiling and wearing a yellow dress. They are both outside.

Los Angeles just elected an urban planner as its mayor

Transportation analysts are optimistic that Raman will be more aggressive in addressing transit issues than Bass.

2 hours ago - Los Angeles Times

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.