Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Proximity To Children: A Geospatial Approach To Understanding The Relationship Between Fast Food And Schools, Andrew Atwong

CMC Senior Theses

In a time when Americans are waking up to the health consequences of consuming fast food, researchers have discovered that fast food restaurants seem to be located in greater concentrations near primary or secondary schools. While this phenomenon affects the food environments of some children and carries implications as to their short term and long term health (which has also been well researched), this paper focuses primarily on fast food restaurants that are within walking distance of schools. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to integrate geospatial, business, demographic, and food quality data, I use linear regressions to examine whether and …

Looking At Market Square: Toward A Development Concept For Chicopee Center, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

This report presents a series of marketing and economic development strategies for the central business district in Chicopee Center known as the Market Square area. The City of Chicopee, along with the cities of Holyoke and Springfield, is part of the urban center of the Pioneer Valley region. Like many older industrial cities, and like many cities with a small downtown area, Chicopee finds its economic fortunes at an ebb. Although Chicopee is certainly not a city in distress, it is believed that steps should be taken to ensure that the Market Square area does not slip into serious decline. …

Marketing Western Massachusetts As A Tourism Destination For International Travelers, Center For Economic Development

Center for Economic Development Technical Reports

In the Spring of 1991, a three phase project was begun at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in which the overall goal of the project was to design and implement an economic development program which would assist the information dominated service industries located in Western Massachusetts. The research for the first phase of the project was undertaken by Regional Planning M.A. candidate Maureen Moriarty under the guidance of adjunct Professor Robert Hopley, School of Business Administration, and Professor Meir Gross, Department of Regional Planning. This initial step in the research "entailed the creation of a pilot program in which …

Gigantic Malls Bring Downtown To Suburbia, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent opening of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., has probably received more publicity than any other shopping center in the nation. This behemoth of shopping malls is certainly something to experience, but the real question is whether this $650 million investment has a future."

Spruce Up The Plan Reports To Gain Some Notice, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It was just a decade ago that the comprehensive plan for the city of Springfield, Mass. was published, and almost immediately, the national news media picked it up and publicized it throughout the country. What was it about this plan for the future of a middle-sized city that would generate this type of attention? After all, most cities produce similar plans, but these usually go unnoticed and unread, even in the communities for which these plans are made.

The imaginative approach used in the Springfield plan was to publish it in the Time magazine format, even to a title that …

Shape Of Things To Come, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The age-old saying is that the future belongs to the young. However, in terms of new potential markets, the business sector ought to consider changing demographics, in nation and state, because the future for the merchants of goods and services may very well be with the old."

Hitting The Untapped International Tourist Market, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"It is the third-largest retailing operation in the nation with approximately five million employees. In New England it generates more than $620 million of state and local taxes annually. And in Rhode Island in 1986, it is estimated that $800 million was spent in this 'invisible industry.'"

Tourism's Full Potential Waiting In Wings For R.I., Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"Question: What industry in this country involves 8 million consumers daily, employs between 4 and 6 million people directly, generates nearly $200 billion in annual expenditures and is our second largest retailing activity? If you answered tourism, you are correct."

Elderly Can Bring Benefits To Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The elderly are becoming an increasingly influential group in our society. Recent outpourings of mail and telegrams to representatives in Washington in response to government-proposed cuts in Social Security underscored this ability to influence chance. Congressional members are listening to the growing numbers of elderly who are making their voices heard through their votes."

More Tenants Would Strengthen Downtown Retailing, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"One of the most obvious symptoms of our sick cities is the decline of downtown retailing. Everywhere vacant shops and empty upper floors remind us of an activity that was the mainstay of downtown vitality, and which today has increasingly shifted to the ubiquitous suburban mall, that notable merchandising technique."

Role For Business Leaders In A Cleaner Downtown, Chester Smolski

Smolski Texts

"The recent sales promotion by the Providence Intown Merchants Association proved quite successful. Five-cent bus rides and bargain sales generated considerable business, especially on Saturday, normally a quiet day for retail sales in the downtown. This well illustrates what is possible when salesmanship and cooperation among downtown merchants are used to full advantage."