Letters to the Editor
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Excuses, excuses
"Even when large retailers are eyeing an urban locale, nuts-and-bolts concerns such as complex zoning laws, high land prices and few available lots" -- this is a bogus argument. Ever been to a seriously depressed inner-city neighborhood, especially one that's predominantly African American? The first things you notice are the vacant lots and empty storefronts, the wholesale abandonment of the neighborhood rather than investment in it. There is no scarcity of available commercial-zoned land in our cities' food deserts. There is an abundance of it, much of it, I'd wager, available for a song. And just one affordably priced supermarket in the middle of one of these food deserts would pull customers from as far as two or three miles away, so ability to turn a profit is not an issue; such a store would do staggering volume, much greater than a comparable store in an affluent neighborhood thick with supermarkets, simply because of the absence of competition.
No, these are not the reasons why large supermarket chains are not situating stores in inner-city neighborhoods. The only legitimate reason I can think of is fear of crime. I can think of many illegitimate reasons, but they would not reflect well on the supermarket operators.