I think the problems with so called "big box stores" are becoming more and more evident all the time. The recent court decision condoning sexist practices by one of our largest national employers has brought my attention back to the problem. I refuse to shop at that particular store, but avoiding all the big box chains completely is nearly impossible.
Another developing problem is the aging and expansion of these stores. After driving all the smaller vendors from a community and operating out of the initial big-box location for a few years business starts to stagnate. So, what is the logical next step? A "super store". As chains are moving to larger and more sprawling locations they are leaving behind the empty shell of that first "big box".
Julia Christensen noticed that a few communities are reclaiming those boxes in creative and interesting ways. From a town hall, to a skate park, to a school, she profiles the way that the forest of innovation and entrepreneurship is slowly reclaiming the strip-mined main streets of communities all over our country.
With a wiki on her website, Christensen invites us all to recognize our own communities as we re-use and re-claim our own areas from the shadow of the big box.
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