Retail Development and Downtown Change: Shopping Mall Impacts on Port Huron, Michigan

RETAIL DEVELOPMENT AND DOWNTOWN

CHANGE: SHOPPING MALL IMPACTS ON PORT

HURON, MICHIGAN

Amie Dickinson

Site Location Research Analyst, Real Estate Department, Advance Auto Parts

Murray D. Rice

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of North Texas

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Executive Summary. Retail geography is a research field with applied linkages to

the interests of businesses and governments alike. This paper examines Port Huron,

Michigan as a Midwestern city whose retail experience provides an opportunity to

observe the direct impacts of shopping mall development on an existing regional

matrix of service activity. Local governments and urban planners will find this case

study to be of interest with regards to mall impacts when concerned with mitigating

the impacts of new retail developments in similar urban situations. Our study shows

that certain business types grew in the downtown area of Port Huron following the

development of a suburban mall in the region, and indicates that such business types

could become the focus of revitalization programs to keep original business districts

thriving. Business owners and consultants can benefit from a greater understanding

of the dynamics reshaping the retail landscapes associated with new shopping

developments.

The location and distribution of businesses within an urban area is a fundamental factor

influencing consumer satisfaction, business profitability, and the overall growth and prosperity of

cities. The primary aim of this research to track retail location change during a period of

particularly important shifts in a city’s local business patterns: the time following a major

suburban retail development. The venue chosen for this study, Port Huron, Michigan, is a small,

Midwestern city with a relatively simple urban form centered on a single, dominant downtown.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the year 2000 the...