Whether you win or lose, don't disband your group and lose all of your momentum once the fight is over. Working to stop a bad development should be the first phase of a larger campaign to change your community's approach to land use policy and economic development.

One thing is certain: win or lose, the big boxes will be back. More proposals are undoubtedly just around the corner. You can save yourself from having to take them on one at a time by changing your community's land use and development policies.

Our Community Protection Policy Kits provide the tools you'll need to introduce and implement store size caps, economic impact review requirements, and other rules to prevent and control big-box development.

Keeping out what you don't want is half the battle. Growing the kind of economy you do want is the other half. People are much more vulnerable to the lure of big-box retail if their local economies fail to provide sufficient shopping options and jobs. Communities need to develop a concrete plan for rebuilding their local economies.

Under Build Alternatives to Big Boxes, you'll find several strategies for strengthening and expanding locally owned businesses.

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