Free Parking and Population Shifts: Clothing Retailers Flock to Suburbia, Omaha, Neb., 1955-1981
Abstract:
<p>Retail geography depends on land use and location decisions. In 1955, Omaha was one of the few major American cities without a regional shopping mall. That changed when a local developer found a site within 15 minutes from more than 300,000 people, calling it The Center Mall. Less than 5 years later, a second regional shopping center, Crossroads, developed 5 miles northwest along Omaha’s major thoroughfare. After a lengthy zoning legal battle, a third regional shopping center, Westroads Mall opened along the intersection of West Dodge Road and Interstate 680 in 1968. Progressively, these three regional malls siphoned off retailers from Omaha’s central business district. </p><p>During this time period, every local and national department store closed their downtown Omaha location. Articles from the <i>Omaha World-Herald</i> will be compared to information gathered from Omaha City Directories and U.S. Census data to determine the influence of parking on the deterioration of Omaha’s central business district versus suburban population shifts. </p>
Keywords: population geography, urban geography, retail geography, transportation geography, historical geography, automobile, shopping, parking, central business district, downtown, Omaha, Nebraska
Authors:
Heather L Bloom, Ph.D. candidate, University of Nebraska; Submitting Author / Primary Presenter