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July 30, 2005

The Vision of Westhaven and When is it Cheaper to Shop Locally Then At Wal-Mart?

I need to start looking at my weekends like mini-vacations. I spend so much time reading anymore that by Sunday night I'm looking forward to Monday morning as a break. I feel like these "Development/Planning" posts are useful beyond merely "notes" for myself, but I also realize they're getting rather long. If there's a better way to format them (greater frequency of posts, the use of the "extended entry" let me know).

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (or DPZ for short) is one of the architectural and urban planning big-dogs. Odds are at one point or another you've been through one of their "new that looks old" neighborhoods. One is in development in Westhaven, near Franklin, TN. It's like a White New-Urbanism Utopia.

This article over on TheBoxTank (a blog primarily about Wal-Mart & "Big Box" commercial development) has me thinking even more about the integration of large, corporate businesses with more traditional urban space.

Specifically, alot of Chattanoogans are frustrated with the Walgreens that is replacing Town & Country, many for aesthetic reasons, others for reasons that it will hurt the viability of walkable commerce on that end of Frazier. I wonder what it would be like for a mixed-used building to be built on the former Town & Country property with a Walgreens in the downstairs and parking in the rear (thus serving the general public, those who can walk from their homes/apartments/condos nearby, and those who would like to drive from North Chat). I can see it working, but I can't see the current administration doing anything with that much *vision*. Which is sad, 'cause a mixed-use building in that space would be so much better for businesses, including that Walgreens.

I'm a big fan of the free market which ticks of some of my more liberal friends. But I'm also a firm believer in smart business (why I love Brent Jackson, the "money man" at Coptix), and often times smart business means not wasting money. The Neighborhood Retail Alliance has a fascinating article on the traffic effects of a Wal-Mart on surrounding roads etc.

Here's my question: will the ever escalating costs of gasoline ($2.30 a gallon locally) plus wear and tear on the vehicle each trip (roughly $.30 a mile) eventually make it cheaper to shop at a geographically closer grocery store or department store? Further, how much do you have to spend at Wal-Mart to make it economically worthwhile? Some kind of equation needs to be put together.

Scott needs to hurry up and finish his Ph.D, get a position at Covenant, and start putting these numbers together.

Urban Planning | By Josiah Roe | 08:02 PM

Comments

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Posted by: david at July 30, 2005 10:06 PM

People who shop at Wal-Mart probably don't drive much farther than people who don't, because they can get everything they're shopping for in one stop instead of driving around to three plus local places.

But take as a wild assumption that you're driving 10 more miles round-trip to Wal-Mart than you would to your local place. That's, what an extra $5.00? When I was in Chattanooga, I could save that much a week just doing grocery shopping at WMT (Winn-Dixie, like it or not, was really pricey, and Bi-Lo didn't have what I wanted). A family of four could probably save $20.00 a week doing the same thing, and that's just on food. Throw in clothes and other consumables and you're really saving some money.

Posted by: ryan at July 31, 2005 02:41 PM

Ryan, nobody is arguing that you can't save money at Wal-Mart. I want to know how much you have to purchase at Wal-Mart to make up that $5.00.

Basically most folks in St. Elmo agree intuitively that it makes more sense to go to Winn-Dixie for smaller things, if only for the convenience sake. My contention is that you actually save money that way (up to a certain amount spent).

Posted by: JosiahQ at July 31, 2005 02:46 PM

I'd spend about $50 a week on groceries, and that would save me the $5. Add to that the fact that I worked 30 seconds from the new Brainerd store, and it made no sense for me to shop at Winn-Dixie most of the time. It really doesn't take much.

As an added bonus, most newer Super Wal-Marts have gas stations on-site with bonuses for card members. You can save up to 5 cents a gallon in some instances, making your trip that much cheaper.

Posted by: ryan at July 31, 2005 11:56 PM

If you factor in "convenience" which really means "I'll go to the closest place for milk because there's a commercial on and when it's over there will be an awesome CSI twist that I am loathe to miss", then everything gets sticky.
Because really, the only reason I don't go to Walmart is for lack of planning. That's why I end up at the corner store.
It seems like you're asking for an equation. I think it'd be hard to come up with because a lot of weight would be added to "opportunity cost" in said equation, and that basically includes "other things I feel like doing instead" which - like the desire to watch CSI - are very hard to measure.

Posted by: Mello at August 1, 2005 02:48 PM

Mello I'm purposely not factoring in convenience.

Posted by: JosiahQ at August 1, 2005 03:13 PM

Well, excluding convenience an average formula (because some goods are priced differently) is thedifferenceinprice/thedifferenceincost. If Walmart is 10 miles further away than the closest store, but beats it's price by 10%, and if I can get 20 miles to the gallon at $2.50 a gallon, then I should go to Walmart if I am going to spend more than $12.50.
They aren't going to make it on purchases less than $12.50, so they have to rely on convenience. That's why they call themselves convenience stores.

Posted by: Mello at August 1, 2005 05:46 PM