Mitigating Impacts of Big Box Retail on Local Communities

Large discount retail stores (or “big box” stores) generate both costs and benefits to local communities that are unevenly distributed across local employees, shoppers, other businesses and government. While these impacts affect communities across the urbanrural spectrum, the hardest hit communities are often rural towns that struggle to retain a mainstreet retail base. States can mitigate many of the negative impacts on local communities by implementing sound planning, zoning and design standards that strengthen local priorities and provide a means for assessing the infrastructure, environmental and fiscal impacts of large retail development.