THINK LIKE A GROCERY STORE

Most people love Trader Joes. Although grocery stores generally struggle for brand loyalty, TJ’s is the only one listed on the vaunted Brand Relevance Index (BRI) which charts customer loyalty to top brands throughout our economy. TJ's customer base has remained loyal during the pandemic, it continues to provide consistent shopper numbers that are out performing other grocers, without relying on online shopping services like Instacart. With alternatives to in person shopping so readily available and popular, and with infection rates at an all-time high, why would anyone venture out of their house to shop for groceries at all?

Grocery Stores have been identified as a hot spot for COVID infection. About 20% of all grocery store employees have contracted COVID. By comparison, TJ's infection rate hovers at about 2.4%. They have done well by focusing on mission driven shopping and a well-managed experience that makes customers feel safe;

1.      Entries into the stores are clearly demarcated with cones as to where people should be standing in line with proper 6’ spacing.

2.      All the shopping carts are wiped down with antibacterial cleaners after every use.

3.      The stores are airy and daylit, and they limit the number of shoppers in the space.

4.      Hand sanitizer is provided at the entries into each store, and there are markings on the floor (literally blue painters tape at the one I go to) enforcing one-way traffic down each aisle.

5.      TJ’s has changed their product list to accommodate more critical items to the home, such as toilet paper and clothes detergent.

6.      TJ’s employs local artists to ‘localize’ each store by providing murals and other signage throughout the store.

7.      Its 'fearless flyer' a weekly guide to the store creates a deep connection with its shoppers by making suggestions about recipes, updating information about current events happening in the area, and informing customers about product changes

8.      The employees are relentlessly enthusiastic, helpful and appreciative, and they generally put shoppers in a better, more community-oriented frame of mind.

9.      In promoting a touchless environment, TJs encourages recycling and reuse of personal shopping bags; many shoppers happily bag their own groceries.

Trader Joes has effectively managed the pandemic and strengthened its brand in local communities at the same time. It provided the infrastructure necessary to guide its shoppers to make effective choices in the community’s interest. Its stores have not only stayed open but are showing pre pandemic sales numbers. Trader Joe’s has figured out a way to expand their business by focusing on changing their shopping culture toward a safer, more accommodating customer experience, without huge investments or retrofitting stores. They have remained relevant in a crisis.

Ok, you might say; Fair enough. But, Nate, you are a city planner. Why is a grocery store important to the future of cities and how does this apply to your business?

WHY CITIES

We cannot avoid the importance of cities to our economy. City centers especially are 'collaboration machines,' forcing diverse points of view together and creating the creative energy essential to innovation. “This is a critical time for city leaders across the United States and around the world. Cities are increasingly understood as the places where humanity’s greatest challenges, from climate change, (to human health), migration to inequality, impact the most people. They’re also where ambitious leaders are stepping up to think creatively, not only about the catalytic role local government can play in solving these problems — but how, in a time of rapid technological, social, and economic change, (how can) they keep their communities ahead (of the curve).” Says Anne-Marie Slaughter in a recent article on city innovation on Bloomberg Cities. 

URBAN/RURAL

Are urban centers safe? The debate around the safety of city centers vs. rural areas during the pandemic is a false choice. The spread of the virus has been much more closely linked to personal behaviors around hygiene and social distancing than style of living. The question planners must ask is; 'how can we work to promote healthy behaviors in cities that allow collaboration to occur without compromising health and safety?' 

Urbanites should not feel threatened by blanket criticisms of urban living. However, they should recognize that our modern lifestyles been designed largely in response to market forces without full accommodation for health and wellness. More than 50% of all US residents live in what could be described as an urban or suburban center and this trend will continue into the next century. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, as many as 68% of the global population will live in cities by 2050. Many predict basic services such as proper sanitation will be stretched to the brink. “In 10 years, an estimated 20% of the world’s population will live in urban environments with a limited access to appropriate water, health, and sanitation infrastructures… this is where epidemics have the most potential to start and spread”, says Elvis Garcia, an expert in public health and a lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Cities have survived many pandemics throughout history and will survive this one. This century has already seen 6 pandemics and it seems certain characteristics of urbanity (hyper mobility, overcrowding, access to sanitation) can leave us more vulnerable. In recent years, calls for cities to focus on health in their planning have been growing. “For the resilient, sustainable cities we all want and need, urban plans need to be designed, evaluated and approved using a health lens,” says Layla McCay, director for the Centre for Urban Design and Mental Health.

That said, there are benefits already documented to urban living, among them greater number of work opportunities, and to be close to the sources of all our daily needs, from food to healthcare. As the world’s cities have grown, urban design has made many of them healthy alternatives to suburban or rural living. A 2017 study found that city living was linked to lower levels of obesity than the suburbs. 

FOCUS ON HOTSPOTS

The modern city; hyper connected vertically and horizontally, has left us more vulnerable to disease. Planners have acted appropriately in the past to make cities more responsive to the situation at hand, such as modern sewer systems and zoning codes developed after typhoid and cholera outbreaks in urban centers in the 19th century. Other innovations in the way we live were responses to market forces, such as the high cost of land forcing developers to build with greater density with the invention of the elevator and modern skyscraper. Today elevators have left us more vulnerable to airborne disease, in what this article describes as ‘the antithesis of social distancing and a risk-multiplying bottleneck’. Similarly, modern heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems rely upon recirculated air to save money, leave us vulnerable to airborne disease. Unregulated Air travel, so much a part of modern life, has left us exposed to disease without a means to contact trace travelers. Finally, our social mores need to emphasize personal responsibility in the pursuit of public health. It’s become clear with our infection rates  over the last year that in the US, we have to rely upon each other to ‘do the right thing’ when sick. Some of these issues are technological, and can be solved through design, but some are more cultural and require a change in value systems that might call into play branding and marketing campaigns. Left unchecked we remain vulnerable. 

Currently, we have solutions to the pandemic through a vaccine just beginning to be widely distributed, however despite its availability, consumer confidence in government is low. What can cities and regions do to restore trust that taking the vaccine is a good idea, the current threat will pass and that urban life will get better ? What can we do NOW, to increase business, to future proof the city, keep vital institutions doors open and have residents and businesses feel good about their role in the city of the future? Like Trader Joes, how can we incentivize the right, community-oriented behaviors that keep us safe and improve the way our cities function?

1.      Neighborhoods first: At between 15-20k size, TJs are found within local main street formats, and cater to a compact trade area of local shoppers within a 1-2 square mile area. Recent experiences have shown us how important local neighborhoods are in the resilience of cities. For example, although cities like New York have large parks such as Central Park as a super regional amenity, many neighborhoods lack access to a local park or other services that are essential to urban resilience. Many cities have pivoted toward strengthening neighborhoods, putting more emphasis on making neighborhood perform in a more responsive way to its citizens; whether its providing more amenities, mobility options and services at the local level, such as in Melbourne’s 20-Minute City initiative. But it’s just the start of what is possible. The pandemic has changed the way we get around, over reliance on infrastructure for the car has compromised other opportunities to build up our urban resilience. For example, in just the city of Los Angeles alone, there are over 27 square miles of surface parking lots, (more than the entire area of Manhattan in New York City) contributing to heat island, food insecurity, and carbon footprint. In the second world war, Americans grew 44% of their food in victory gardens, and there is a renewal of interest in gardening such as the climate victory garden that takes underutilized pieces of land and converts them to green spaces that produce food. The pandemic as shown the value of contact tracing in managing the spread of disease. Further innovations have occurred at the neighborhood scale in the tracking of pathogens There are significant opportunities with sensors to track the quality of city services, such as this study being undertaken by MIT students who use data samples from the sewer system to track bacteria and other pathogens at neighborhood scale. 

2.      Streets for people: TJ’s does a great job of managing their parking lots, providing a clear path for pedestrians to queue, cross oncoming traffic safely, while directing traffic in single file. They encourage cycling with bike trail connections to most stores, ample parking and stations with tables for cyclists to load groceries. Similarly, one of the easiest things we can do as planners is manage the infrastructure we have more intelligently, specifically, sidewalks can be better structured to accommodate passive and active areas, seating and landscape areas. In the early days of the pandemic, Governors Cuomo of New York and Newsom of California were lobbied by local restaurants to accommodate outdoor dining within on street parking areas, but also parklets, passive seating areas, bike parking, Wi-Fi, zones, and more. New Yorkers have long complained about a lack of space for pedestrian activity within such a dense city. Around the globe, cities have been closing drive and on street parking areas along the curb line of streets to give pedestrians priority. This does several positive things including providing more physical space for pedestrians, slows the spread of the virus, and it also allows outdoor dining to occur thereby preserving the viability of local businesses. The city of Oakland, CA, through its 'slow streets' program has closed more than 74 linear miles of streets for pedestrian and bike access with significant public support, and have been talking about making this a permanent solution.

3.      Health good, Wellness better: at the entry into each of their stores, TJ’s has hand washing stations available and visible to all shoppers. In city centers, densely populated and hyper connected neighborhoods amplify the risk of spreading disease. It’s been proven that those areas that have limited access to water, sanitation and hygiene, are the most vulnerable to the spread of the disease. In many major cities, hand washing stations have been set up especially in areas which are disadvantaged, such as this one in San Francisco in the Tenderloin District have help to stanch the spread of the disease. And we have to continue getting better at providing these temporary services; in 10 years an estimated 20% of the world’s population will like with limited access to appropriate sanitation infrastructures. Such amenities should be expanded throughout dense areas of the City to promote good hygiene beyond the pandemic. Beyond this, what obligation do cities have to reduce stress, and create a sense of wellbeing in its residents? Leading Cities are focused on health and wellness in the design, evaluation, and approval of all new projects. Cities such as Singapore have developed a program of therapeutic gardens which according to research provides a ‘range of health benefits such as the relief of mental fatigue, reduced stress and an overall improvement to emotional well-being’ for urban residents. With the growing uncertainty of our time, cities such as these that focus on the long-term health and wellness will enjoy competitive advantage over those that don’t.

4.      Clear the air (and prove it): Trader Joes keeps its front doors open during business hours as well as loading dock entries to introduce as much fresh at into the shopping space as possible. Although European countries have strict requirements  about monitoring indoor air quality, much of the innovation in north American buildings has been toward making building envelopes tighter, recirculating indoor air and improving energy efficiency. It’s not surprising therefor that ‘sick building syndrome’ is a real concern- an issue identified as early as the 1980’s, and importantly linked to the SARS epidemic in 2003. Today, Americans are exposed to more pollutants indoors than outdoors through indoor air circulation systems. There is a growing recognition among building designers and public health officials that the effort to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings has sometimes overlooked the health of the people inside. To that end there will be investment in IoT systems that monitor air quality in real time that is monitored from your desk . Although it might sound like a significant investment to retrofit these buildings, some financial models predict as much as a 360% annual return on investment with measurable benefits to worker attitude and productivity. Fresh air is better not just for worker health but also great for the bottom line.

5.      Build flexibly and quickly: TJ’s quickly put up tents and other temporary structures to accommodate cleaning stations for shopping carts, outside loading areas for cyclists, with clear markings for social distancing. These actions reinforce certain behaviors that keep us safer as a community. As pandemics become a more frequent part of our lives, cities will need to become more adaptable and responsive to changes in need. This could mean building structures more flexibly and quickly. Examples of this include the temporary Nightingale Hospital in London, or the 1000 bed ‘instant hospitals’ in China built in just ten days to accommodate the surge in COVID cases. On February 3, the Wuhan hospital opened, built out of prefabricated hospital rooms, and was fully occupied quickly thereafter, along with 16 others built soon thereafter. On April 15, the pandemic being ‘basically curbed’ according to Xi Jinping, the hospital was closed. In Los Angeles, shelters have been going up as part of Mayor Garcetti’s push to improve the homeless situation. Although there has been strong criticism from some locals, 'A Bridge Home' initiative has been presented to Angelenos as a health and safety initiative that leads to permanent supportive housing for the homeless while improving neighborhoods. In order to solve short term housing needs, many companies work with the military, oil and gas industries, construction, and mining using converted shipping containers as temporary structures to solve short term housing needs. Timber construction is fast and easy to build with and is widely accepted by the urban community. The Gensler designed temporary chapel for Notre Dame in Paris, France maintains a sense of reverence for parishioners and others, while being relatively inexpensive and quick to build and take down.

FINALLY

Thinking about how to manage our cities after this pandemic passes is essential for planners; to learn from what has just occurred; posit strategies for the future— history tells us it will happen again. We must consider why we have pandemics in the first place, which has something to do with our relationship to nature; our loss of connection to it, and imbalances which result in the spread of disease. The pandemic resilient city must not only be an economic proposition but one of health, safety and wellbeing for the communities it serves. We must get better at addressing the poverty and inequities in our neighborhoods. We must get better at thinking about cities in terms of serving its residents and stewarding the natural systems of our regions. All of this can be done practically without a game-changing approach, but by functional problem solving that manages and interprets data, sets goals implements practical solutions and monitors performance.

Our cities of tomorrow might be much like the ones of today, just a bit less crowded with access to more resources and managed with greater responsiveness- like your favorite grocery store.