Grocery Stores

People walking down aisle of grocery store in Toronto, Canada.

Making economic sense of city-owned grocery stores

Several cities are moving to create municipal stores, but do they actually save low-income households money?

May 23, 2026 - Toronto Star

People looking into the frozen foods aisle at a grocery store.

NYC's first city-run grocery store coming to the South Bronx

City-owned grocery stores were one of Mayor Mamdani's campaign promises.

May 19, 2026 - Spectrum News

Large Walmart store with empty parking lot.

How Smaller Supermarkets Could Transform American Communities

Bigger is not always better.

January 2, 2025 - Marcelo Remond

Closed grocery store in small building in small town in Washington state.

One Weird Trick for Eliminating Food Deserts

How enforcing one federal law, ignored since the 1980s, could bring back small grocers and ensure more people have convenient access to fresh foods.

December 17, 2024 - The Atlantic

Man with baby in sling holds red grocery basket while looking at refrigerated store section.

Even in ‘Food Deserts,’ Independent Grocers Struggle to Survive

Government support has helped open stores in underserved communities, but cost and scale make it difficult for small businesses to survive long-term.

August 12, 2024 - ProPublica

Three people walking on a street while holding paper grocery bags

Vermont Program Encourages Walking for Grocery Trips

A Burlington program is using grocery trolleys to remind residents that, for many of them, a grocery store is less than a mile away.

July 22, 2022 - Burlington Free Press

Complete Street Vancouver

Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’

A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.

May 20, 2022 - Vancouver Sun

Corner Store

Healthy Corner Stores Fight 'Retail Redlining'

Small entrepreneurs are working to combat 'food deserts' by bringing fresh, healthy foods to communities lacking access to major grocery stores. But price continues to be a major factor in people's food choices.

September 13, 2021 - The Guardian

Grocery Stores

Supermarkets Closing in Response to 'Hero Pay' Requirements in Southern California

The cities of Long Beach and Los Angeles are dealing with the fallout from controversial decisions to require extra compensation for grocery store workers during the pandemic.

March 16, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

New York City Grocery Store

New Zoning Incentives for Grocery Store Developments Proposed in New York City

Transit accessibility incentives are also included in a package of zoning reforms proposed this week that would provide incentives for grocery store developments in a wider swath of New York City.

March 11, 2021 - Commercial Observer

Social distancing in a Trader Joe's line in Cambridgeport, Cambridge, Massachusetts March 21, 2020

Opinion: How Trader Joe's Nailed its Pandemic Response

Cities could learn from the grocery store chain's successful navigation of the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

February 2, 2021 - Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research

Shopping Cart

Dollar Stores and Grocery Stores

Opponents of dollar stores argue that dollar stores are the mortal enemy of grocery stores. Is this really true?

February 24, 2020 - Michael Lewyn

Retail

Local Restrictions on Dollar Stores Gaining Popularity

Cities and counties all over the South are restricting further development of dollar stores.

February 13, 2020 - Next City

Dollar Store

In Tulsa, Pushing Back on the Dollar Store Incursion

Restrictions in North Tulsa are part of a backlash against the dollar stores flooding communities that are food deserts in need of real grocery stores.

November 23, 2019 - The New York Times

Rural Texas

The Food Deserts of Rural America

When a town doesn’t have a grocery store, it means people don’t have access to food. But grocery stores also play an essential social and economic role in rural places. Community stores are trying to fill in the void.

November 13, 2019 - The New York Times

Supermarket Japan

Experiencing the City in the Supermarket

Grocery stores are more than just places to buy food. They’re the universal gateway to city life and culture.

July 16, 2019 - New York Magazine

San Jose, California

For Lack of Free Parking, Downtown San Jose Loses a Grocery Store

Why isn't there a place for a major grocery store brand in the downtown of one of the most economically active cities in the country?

June 14, 2019 - The Mercury News

Grocery Stores

New Grocery Chain on the Block Offers an Alternative to the Walmarts of the World

If you haven't heard of Aldi yet, you probably will soon.

May 22, 2019 - CNN

Louisville Supermarket

Food Insecurity a Growing Problem in Louisville

Supermarket closings have turned parts of the city into food deserts. As a result, residents lack access to fresh food and suffer health and economic consequences.

January 18, 2019 - Louisville Courier Journal

Dollar Store

Dollar Stores Encroach on the Grocery Business: Bad News for Public Health

Stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree are putting a lot of grocery stores out of business, leaving communities with fewer places to buy fresh produce.

December 27, 2018 - Civil Eats

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.

Professor of Urban Planning

Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Transportation Planner I

KFH Group Inc.

Director, Strategy and Research

Greater Baltimore Committee

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