Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The change in Greater Boston's retail structure are measured by comparing the 1960-1961 store patterns and their internal features with those which existed in 1946-1947. The foundation for the comparison is provided by Kenneth W. Walters' doctoral dissertation, "The Secondary Shopping Centers of Metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts," Department of Sociology, Syracuse University, 1949. Over 36,000 stores in Boston and the thirty-nine cities and towns forming the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) City Zone were field mapped in 1960-1961. Then these stores, and those in the BC inventoried by Walters, were classified according to a system devised to reflect their "retail strength." "Retail strength" is a measure of the importance, desirability, and stability of each association of stores. The purpose of the classification is to understand the functional differences which occur within the same Shopping District, and the differences which occur between different Districts. Classification is also necessary to understand the type of change which has taken place over the comparative period in any given District. By examining changes which have taken place in man's relationship to his environment many of the changes in the methods of retailing are more easily understood. The Planned Shopping Center and the Self-Service Department Store in particular are notable additions to the retail structure. These modern facilities have had profound repercussions upon the older conventional Shopping Districts. Other changes are attributable to the changing role of the isolated store and the changing role of the chain store. New methods of merchandising, especially self-service, have affected store size and shape. In general, new units are larger than their predecessors. The older stores have adapted to the new space requirements by consolidating several older units. Maps and cartograms, or conventionalized maps, are the principal method used to describe and compare the areal distribution of shopping facilities. The Boston's maps of Metropolitan Boston, showing the location of retail facilities by means of graduated symbols, are used directly in the analysis of change. The Boston Globe's maps are also used to construct maps of the pattern of streets devoted to retailing in 1946-1947 and 1960-1961. Simultaneous examination of both sets of maps in overlay enables comparison of the location of each Shopping District within the study area to the location of all other shopping areas, population distribution, and road networks. The size, form (relationship of store location to street grid), and the continuity or discontinuity of store distribution within the District are recorded on the Cartograms. Other internal features taken into consideration are store associations (the number and type of retail units) and store size. The Cartograms show the following physical characteristics of each District - The 1946-1947 Retail Structure, Demolitions and Conversions to Non-Retail Use, New Construction and Conversion to Retail Use, Internal Change (Consolidation and Division of Stores), and The 1960-1961 Retail Structure. The Cartogram Dot Distribution Series shows the location of vacancies and selected types of stores in each District for both comparative periods. They also designate which stores were engaged in the specified type of retailing during both periods. The relative differences of stability in drug, food, appliance and department stores are assessed in greater detail, and tabular summaries of these changes are presented and interpreted. In addition, a comparative analysis of selected Shopping Districts is presented to clarify the relationship among the changes associated with shopping area patterns, the internal morphology of Shopping Districts, and the individual store features. The retail structure in Greater Boston is compared to the theoretical or idealized spatial pattern suggested by Walter Christaller's central place theory. The comparison discloses no accordance of pattern with this theoretical distribution. / 2031-01-01

It is well established that national retail chains impact small, single location retail businesses in terms of revenue generation, retail structure, retail type diversity, and location. This study examines the retail structure and diversity of five retail districts in the City of Denton, Texas. The analysis focuses on one central business district (CBD), one traditional retail strip center (University Drive, also known as US HWY 380), one special retail district (Fry Street District), one traditional enclosed shopping mall and associated development (Golden Triangle Mall), and one power retail center (Denton Crossing). The empirical foundation for the investigation is a historical business database covering years 1997 to 2010, obtained from Info Group's Reference USA. This Reference USA database includes location, industry, and status (single versus chain location) information for each business. Retail diversity and evenness were measured for each of the five retail districts using the Simpson's Diversity Index and the Simpsons Measure of Evenness, leading to specification of the differences that exist in retail structure and diversity among the districts. Golden Triangle Mall and Denton Crossing were primarily chain location in composition while Fry Street District, the CBD, and University Drive were primarily single location in composition. Across all years, the single versus chain status of the local business communities did not substantially change within any of the districts. The Fry Street District exhibited the most change in diversity as well as the lowest overall diversity among the retail districts, followed by University Drive and Golden Triangle Mall. The CBD did not experience any major change in retail type diversity. However, all retail districts experienced major changes in retail evenness. Overall for the city, single location retail businesses accounted for the majority of all the retail businesses, however, chain locations employed more people. In total, these findings indicate that the development of retail districts composed primarily of chain location retailer's affects retail district diversity and evenness but not retail structure.