Grocery Cooperatives as Governing Institutions in Neighborhood Commercial Corridors

Abstract

We explore cooperatives’ potential to play governing roles in neighborhood commercial corridors (NCCs) by examining one grocery cooperative in Philadelphia that has had stores on three NCCs in the city. We distinguish between an anchor institution role, where one organization provides collective goods for the corridor, and governance, where multiple corridor stakeholders collectively provide goods. We conclude that a cooperative will more likely play a governance role if it enters an NCC at a point when there are no other potential corridor-governing organizations, and when the NCC itself is at an early stage of development or redevelopment. What this suggests more generally about NCCs is that the organizations present at their founding or at a critical juncture have a large impact on their future developmental trajectories. We argue further that a cooperative is more likely to play a governance role when it was created by neighborhood stakeholders and it thus reflects the distinct social norms of the neighborhood.

“If you Build it with them, they will come”: What makes a supermarket intervention successful in a food desert?

“…Findings from the 71 case studies are supported and help more broadly explain previous studies where new supermarkets built without community support are not readily adopted by local residents (Dubowitz et al, ; Ghosh‐Dastidar et al, ) or where a new cooperative supermarket helped spur long‐term economic development (Zitcer & Dilworth, ). Future studies may wish to include a community governance framework for case studies to help better explain findings related to place‐based economic development and health outcomes.…”

“…A community governance framework can help make sense not only of different modes of community engagement within efforts but also of alliances across efforts where nonprofits or commercial actors institutionalize their agendas in public policy. For example, Zitcer and Dilworth () provide evidence from a Philadelphia‐based supermarket cooperative where community engagement in development set the foundation for further involvement in the neighborhood's development trajectory by embedding community members in the work of nonprofits, local government, and the business community. Their findings are particularly salient for neighborhoods that have lacked local institutions with legitimacy in the policymaking process.…”

Neighborhood Diversity and Food Access in a Changing Urban Spatial Structure

“…While this complexity certainly challenges planners and policy makers, changing the perceptions of inner-ring suburban neighborhoods, particularly those where the African Americans concentrate, may be a first necessary step to make the place more attractive to business (Alkon et al 2013;Howerton and Trauger 2017). Grocery cooperatives might also help in providing more food options in these communities (Zitcer and Dilworth 2019).…”

“…2013; Howerton and Trauger 2017). Grocery cooperatives might also help in providing more food options in these communities (Zitcer and Dilworth 2019).…”

Cooperative Organization and Its Characteristics in Economic and Social Development (1995 to 2020)

“…The authors' goal was to demonstrate the positive aspect on corridor governance, provided that the formation of a community organization is observed, in which community members organize to create actions for social change and community development. [54].…”