In many countries small shops and town centers are going out of business, because people tend to drive to the large out-of-town stores. This results in an increase in car use, and it also means that people without cars have limited access to out-of-town stores. Do you think advantages of such development outweigh its disadvantages

In many countries the world over, small shops in city centres cannot compete with large stores that are based on the outskirts;

therefore

, many of those small businesses are threatened with closure.

This

leads to a number of consequences, including a rise in

car

usage in these countries and access to large out-of-town stores becoming limited for those without cars. In my view,

this

change does more harm than good. Increasing bankruptcies among small town-centre shops are an unfortunate situation that puts local people to great inconvenience, with those who are not in possession of a

car

standing most affected, because they now have to travel to a distant place to shop. The time used for

such

journeys could be better spent on other activities that are of greater importance, be it work or entertainment. The situation’s impacts are

also

far beyond individual levels. It causes a significant loss for the economy of any city where large numbers of

such

businesses are forced to shut down.

This

may inflict unexpected damage to the national economy as a whole. The rise in

car

usage caused by people’s demand for long-distance travel is

also

problematic. Traffic congestion will become worse due to the higher number of vehicles on the streets.

Furthermore

, the number of pollutants emitted from

car

engines will rise, which heightens pollution levels in those places and adversely affects human health.

However

,

this

change in people’s shopping preference may encourage them to move to out-of-town areas to live. Given the fact that modern cities are faced with overpopulation and

consequently

ever-growing pressure on housing supply systems,

this

could be considered a start of relieving

such

pressure.(3) In conclusion, the trend towards shopping in large stores located away from city centres is having many negative impacts.

Although

it could encourage some people to move to places where these stores are established and help to solve some population problems in modern cities, I doubt that the trend could promise any significant outcome.