CGU4U/C
Unit 2: Space & Systems
WALMART- THE DECISION TO EXPAND IN HUNTSVILLE AT THE
GATEWAY COMMERCIAL CAMPUS
Companies and municipalities conduct huge amounts of research when
determining if and where new businesses or industries locate. Research
is important to the companies because they want to locate in a place
that makes money and it is important to a municipality because they
do not want to disrupt or alter already existing local businesses.
INTODUCTION:
What was/is the goal of completing a market assessment on the
Huntsville area? Who would benefit from the findings of the
assessment?
COMMERCIAL CONTEXT & STRUCTURE OF HUNTSVILLE:
To begin the analysis they split all commercial operations into 6 sub
land use categories. What are those categories? (page 10)
Why would it be useful to split all commercial operations into these
various categories?
On page 10 the analysis goes into detail about the “8 Commercial
Nodes” in Huntsville. What is a commercial node and how does the
location/number of nodes impact the decision to expand Walmart?
CGU4U/C
Unit 2: Space & Systems
How has Huntsville’s commercial landscape changed since the study
was done in 2007? Which businesses have changed names, moved,
closed or opened? There are many changes if you look for them by
skimming the document! (page 13, 14 provide a good start)
OTHER REGIONAL SHOPPING DESTINATIONS:
Page 24-25 discusses the proximity of other regional shopping
destinations. Which other communities are in competition with
Huntsville for shoppers?
Of these communities, which do you think have the strongest pull on
our local shoppers in Huntsville? Why?
ESTABLISHING A STUDY AREA (page 28)
For a company like Walmart to determine their study area they set
specific criteria. What criteria did they use?
CGU4U/C
Unit 2: Space & Systems
Analyze the map on page 29.
How are the east and west zones different from the North zone? Why
do you think this occurs? (hint: it relates to the section above on
shopping destinations)
POPULATION PROJECTIONS (page 29-31)
How was Huntsville’s population expected to change? What impact
would this have on the decision for a potential expansion?
The document mentions the importance of seasonal residents. How
many seasonal residents did Huntsville have in 2006? How many were
projected for 2015? Comment on how seasonal residents affect the
types of services our town can provide? (Christaller’s central place
theory)
STUDY AREA DEMOGRAPHICS: INCOME AND CAPITAL SPENDING
(page 33-35)
How would knowing the socio-economic status of customers influence
the decision for expansion of Walmart?
CGU4U/C
Unit 2: Space & Systems
CUSTOMER ORIGIN LICENSE PLATE SURVEY: (page 38)
How is a license plate survey conducted and what does it reveal about
shoppers?
How the results of the Survey were used: (zoom in on map page 39)
Which zone had the best “To Huntsville” percentage? Why!
Which zone had the worst “to Huntsville” percentage? Why!
STUDY CONCLUSIONS: (page IV near top)
What conclusions did the market analysis come up with?
CGU4U/C
Unit 2: Space & Systems
CONCEPTS OF SPATIAL INTERACTION
-Define the following terms related to today’s study using the “concepts of spatial
interaction” document on the class website.
-Comment on how each relates to the Market Assessment
SPATIAL INTERACTION:
DISTANCE DECAY:
TRANSFERABILITY:
CRITICAL DISTANCE:
FRICTION OF DISTANCE:
INTERVENING OPPORTUNITIES:
LAW OF RETAIL GRAVITATION: