The subject of this dissertation is the architectural history of big-box stores on Southern Vancouver Island since their arrival in 1992. It examines the architecture and cultural significance of stores located in the Regional District of Nanaimo, the Cowichan Valley Regional District, and the Capital Regional District. This study hypothesizes that big-box stores are, in terms of their architecture, retailing formats, and consumption practices, central locations and vehicles for the reproduction of capitalist social relations. In the postmodern or Late Capitalist era. these relations have emphasized consumption over production, and have exerted a deep influence on everyday life and political economy in urban Canada. This study interprets the architectural and social spaces of New Retail Formats (NRFs) through a Marxist perspective, and uses the inter-disciplinary methods of vernacular architecture studies and architectural-geography. I have evaluated the big-box store in terms of typology, distribution, and social operation. I have also placed them in the context of North American architectural history, especially in relation to shopping centres. I argue that big-box stores produce, consume, and reproduce distinctive forms of social space, which I have named "value space". Value space is the set of social and spatial relationships found within big-box stores that are shaped by both retailers and consumers, and which are focused on low-priced commodities. Value space is a contemporary and clear example of what Karl Marx and Henri Lefebvre each identified as key to capitalism's survival: the reproduction of the relations of production and consumption. In the same way that factory relationships also shape life beyond the factory, the value space of big-box stores is also produced, consumed, and reproduced in other social and professional practices, such as urban planning and municipal politics. The aims of my study were: to document the history of this new architectural type; to explain the place of big-box store development in municipal political economy; and, to examine the role of big-box stores in the reproduction of capitalist urban space on Southern Vancouver Island. In doing so, I argue that big-box stores are engines and symbols of urban development that foster increased consumption, support the socio-economic status quo, and refashion natural and social environments in accordance with the values of capitalism. I believe big-box stores are the architectural subject of greatest contemporary importance on Southern Vancouver Island. Few other buildings types today generate similar feelings - for and against - as do big-box stores. They are at once a building type, a retail format, and a symbol of contemporary urban development. Their importance comes from their size, from the scale of their operations, and from their impacts on municipal politics, urban planning, transportation infrastructure, regional ecosystems, and community life. The retailing and consumption practices they house, facilitate and manage contain the seeds of, or needs for, future consumption. This makes NRFs economic and symbolic centres for the reproduction of the relations of production and consumption.

The retail landscape has changed significantly since the mid 20th century, evolving from a city centre focus through strip malls, shopping centres, shopping malls, mega-malls, big box stores, and to the newest form of retailing - the lifestyle commercial centres. One constant through this evolution has been the permissive role of land use regulations in shaping the form and location of retailing. At issue is whether local governments, and in particular land use planners, have abandoned a holistic approach to evaluating the public good and instead focused solely on the economic benefits gained from new development. This study offers a new approach to understanding the "boxed in" relationship between the retail landscape and the public good: that is, boxed in by the form of available retailing, by the paradoxical lack of choice brought on by an obsessive belief in "larger is better", and by permissive decision-making that focuses too strongly on the economic benefits of more and larger retail stores. A case study of the retail landscape of Nanaimo, British Columbia is included to illustrate a practical example of this relationship. Drawing on primary research on the impact of shopping locations on individuals combined with in-depth interviews and archival research, the retail landscape is examined. The intended outcome of this research is to challenge local governments, and in particular land use planners, to more fully consider the question of the public good when evaluating land use proposals.

Submitted by Horacio Razuk Filho (horaciorf@me.com) on 2018-04-26T19:04:01Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Horácio - Versão Final Impressão.pdf: 1053027 bytes, checksum: 1edbd2cf33e2f2b5bd7bf3911f1f82b0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Mayara Costa de Sousa (mayara.sousa@fgv.br) on 2018-04-27T16:42:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Horácio - Versão Final Impressão.pdf: 1053027 bytes, checksum: 1edbd2cf33e2f2b5bd7bf3911f1f82b0 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzane Guimarães (suzane.guimaraes@fgv.br) on 2018-04-27T17:41:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Horácio - Versão Final Impressão.pdf: 1053027 bytes, checksum: 1edbd2cf33e2f2b5bd7bf3911f1f82b0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-27T17:41:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Horácio - Versão Final Impressão.pdf: 1053027 bytes, checksum: 1edbd2cf33e2f2b5bd7bf3911f1f82b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-28 / Esta dissertação se insere no ambiente do varejo multicanal, um tema amplamente discutido principalmente com o crescimento das vendas do e-commerce (12% em 2017 em relação a 2016 no Brasil) e que contribuiu para que diversos varejistas tradicionais entrassem no canal online. Entretanto, pouco se fala em utilizar essas soluções para diminuir o espaço das lojas físicas e torná-las mais eficientes. Embora haja competição entre os canais físico e digital na distribuição de produtos, existem evidências que esses canais sejam complementares, com a loja física servindo de showroom para as vendas do e-commerce na região. O objetivo dessa pesquisa é investigar a relação entre área da loja física e vendas off-line e online dentro da área de influência da loja. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi realizado um experimento de campo com os dados de venda de quatro lojas de uma rede varejista na cidade de São Paulo, em que duas dessas lojas tiveram sua área de vendas reduzida. Os resultados indicam que as mudanças na loja causaram impacto nas vendas off-line: quando houve alteração de visual merchandising simultaneamente à redução da área o impacto foi positivo, e quando a redução foi feita de forma mais simples, esse impacto foi negativo. Já nas vendas online não houve alteração: a tendência de crescimento se manteve para as duas lojas. Implicações da pesquisa incluem insights para gestores do setor sobre investimentos de expansão/redução online/off-line no contexto de multicanalidade. / This thesis is based in the multichannel retail environment, which is a recurrent theme especially after the rapid growth in e-commerce sales in recent past (12% in 2017 over 2016 in Brazil) that has contributed to the entrance of major traditional retailers in the electronic channel. In spite of that, there has been very little discussion on using these online tools to reduce store space and make it more efficient. Because even though there is some competition between the physical and digital channels in sales and distribution, evidences point that they are complementary with the store serving as showroom to the e-commerce sales in the region. The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between physical store size and sales both off-line and online within the region of influence of the store. To achieve this goal, a field experiment was conducted with data from four stores of a retail chain in the city of São Paulo, two of which had their sales area reduced. The results indicate that after the reduction, sales from both stores were impacted, but in the store where this reduction was made in conjunction with other changes in visual merchandising the impact was positive, while in the store where the reductions was simpler this impact was negative. In regards to the online sales, there was no measurable change in sales trend. The implications of this research include insights to managers of this sector about investments and expansion plans within this context.