Did the Roosevelt Academy influence possible changes in the retail sector around the market square?

Dear readers,

This is our field research project about Middelburg. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Any suggestions and comments are always welcome!

Much Love,
Geert, Fieke, Luuk and Wouter

Did the Roosevelt Academy influence possible changes in the retail sector around the market square?

Introduction and Theoretical Framework

The Roosevelt Academy was established at the beginning of 2004. At this moment, eight years after the first students arrived, an average of 600 students are now inhabitants of Middelburg. These students account approximately for 1.5% of the total city population. As probably known, students have a reputation for having strange habits. For some residences it could create irritations; however others see opportunity in this.

What our field study will focus on is how the Roosevelt Academy and the students of the Roosevelt Academy have changed the retail structure in the past eight years. We will be focusing purely on shops which are within walking distance of the Roosevelt Academy buildings.

Middelburg is an interesting city to analyze. When looking at the structure of Middelburg, the city center is filled with shops, often commonly known chain stores, and the other parts are filled with restaurants and cafés. Office buildings have been placed more on the “outskirts” of the city for transportation purposes.

Looking at it from a social perspective, the yearly seasons and the weather have a great influence on the amount of people and the type of people in the city. During the months of June, July and August the city is often a popular touristic destination for Dutch and German tourists. On the other hand, many of the students leave Middelburg during these months and return to their hometowns. Also during the weekend there is a swap of students. Many students studying in different locations in the Netherlands return to Middelburg, and the Roosevelt Academy students leave Middelburg and return Sunday evening.

Before we began our research, we looked at certain sources to see if a possible prediction could be made. Many sources focused on the student-life in the UK cities. From these sources we were able to see that in the UK a student city often dominates a city when the student population accounts for 10 to 15 percent. However, studies have shown that even though a large student city creates a lot of perspective, many students only make use of the city for entertainment purposes. However, these entertainment suppliers like pubs and cafes, try to satisfy the locals as well. Several city centers increase prices during the weekends in order to give the locals the opportunity to enjoy a drink without the company of students.

With the knowledge we have received from our theoretical work, which investigated different student cities, we predict that the retail structure of the city will not have changed ever since the Roosevelt Academy was established. The main argument for our predictions is that we believe that the Roosevelt Academy does not have enough students, and students seem to spend their extra money for entertainment purposes rather than new clothing. We do however believe that De Drvkkery (the bookstore located on the market square) will have benefited, since students are required to buy books twice a year. 

Methods

In order to answer the main research question ‘Did Roosevelt Academy change the retailstructure?’ it is necessary to know the retail structure before Roosevelt Academy was established and the structure now, seven years later. Therefore we consulted the websites of the land register (Kadaster) and chamber of commerce (KvK). Moreover, a trip to the municipality of Middelburg was planned to get a glimpse or a copy of the zoning plan of this moment and of eight years or longer ago.

However, the zoning plan only shows if the number of places available in the city for commercial enterprises has expended/decreased and if so, where in the city. The map does not reveal which types of shops have expended or become smaller, which shops are located where and for which reason and what kind of customer base a shop has and if that has changed.  These questions are important for answering the main question. Thus two additional research methods are added in order to get an answer on the main question.

For the interviews, a semi structured interview  was used in order to obtain the data we required. Semi-structured was chosen because we had a set of research topics and questions in mind, but we wanted to keep in dynamic if we wanted to improvise. The four questions listed below  were used as a basis for the interviews.

1) When is your shop established?               (Where they here already when RA started?)
2) Why is your shop here?  (entrepreneurship -> why interested in Middelburg? Because of RA?)
3) Has your shop expanded/become smaller since 7 years ago?  (Has RA had influence on the shop?)

4) What is your customer base? Do few/some/many students come here?

The interview is short because many interviews have to be conducted to get an overall    impression of the influence of Roosevelt Academy on the retail structure and little time is available. The interviews will be conducted on shops in close proximity of the market square.  Smaller shops are preferred because often the owner works there him/herself and is able to give the information needed.

History of the Market Square.

On the 17th of May 1940, the market square of Middelburg and the surrounding buildings, including the town hall, were destroyed by a fire that was the result of a German bombardment.  The reconstruction of the city and the restoring of the buildings started shortly after the bombardment. Even though the decision was taken to rebuild the city in the same style, the street pattern of Middelburg’s inner city was slightly changed: The market square became smaller and some allies were not rebuilt.  As the tramway disappeared from the market square, another mean of transportation was introduced: the car. For a couple of years the market square served as a parking facility and only recently was transformed to a car-free zone.

Zone planning and the Municipality.

The zone planning (or City planning)  of any municipality divides up the property into different functions: Some buildings are meant for residential purposes, others for commercial enterprises, while thirds can be industrial or public sphere properties. As can be read in Kabir (2007), City planning is an important and strategic tool in order to facilitate the needs and wants of the inhabitants of a city. The zone plan of Middelburg stems from 1992. It is supposed to be remodeled and rethought every 10 years, but due to unknown circumstances it has been postponed to 2012.

During the interview with two city hall employees, both of them in the college for zone planning, it became clear that the plan of 1992 did not changed at all because of the coming of Roosevelt Academy. They did not foresee a big change in the dynamics of the city and  calculated that the impact of the Roosevelt Academy would be moderate. Not even the buildings of Roosevelt Academy needed a change of purpose; the buildings were categorized  in the public sphere, of which a subpart is educational institutions.

Further questions revealed that there was an increase in entrepreneurship overall in the recent years, but no causality could be found in the arrival of Roosevelt Academy. Also, they explicitly stated that the zone planning  might not have changed, but their vision did: They aim to facilitate student life and student initiative,  but this vision is not yet translated into practical changes for the commercial district or the planning department.

Analysis of the Data:

The Data from seven shops around the market square  was collected and can be found in the appendix. The basic information from the four questions can be found there, together with additional information that occurred from further questioning or extensions given by the shop owners themselves.

All the shops were founded before the arrival of Roosevelt Academy, and all of them had the same reason for being on the market square: or the building was already in possession of the family business or the building was on a prominent location with lots of tourists  and shoppers passing by.

There is a general trend that can be stopped with the answers from the third question. All interviewed said that they slowly expanded they business the last decade. But there were also darker tidings; the economic crisis of 2009 can be felt in every branch of the retail service.  Also the shop owners stated that students did not represent a significant portion of their revenue.

The shop owners also stated that students were coming in to their shops once in a while, but for none the students represented a significant portion  of their clientele.  The only significant impact students might have had on revenue, was the amount of students that make use of the ‘Brasserie” the eating café part of De Drvkkery. This was noticed by the interviewed person there after a while. What was interesting to see, and was derived from further questioning, is that Roosevelt Academy students might not have a big impact on local retail, but that the Roosevelt Academy itself does have a big impact. As the flower shop owner stated, as well as the ‘babbelaars’ store and De Drvkkery.  They sometimes receive an immense order for open days conferences or other important events

Discussion and conclusions

The conclusions that can be drawn from all the collected data, both municipal and local, support the thesis that Roosevelt Academy students did not have a significant impact on the businesses around the market square. This is easily explainable as the students only number 600 amongst a population of 48,000. Secondly, the tourism industry is very big in Middelburg, thus even further decreasing the portion of revenue made by Roosevelt Academy. 

A second point that arose from  our questioning was the impact of Roosevelt Academy as an institute instead of its members. This point also invites for further researching and discussion. As the municipal body describes, Roosevelt Academy did not only pull 600 students to Middelburg, but also created 150 to 200 high quality jobs in Middelburg.  Also Roosevelt Academy spends a lot in the local area, further increasing the revenue of some shops.

As a general conclusion, the arrival of Roosevelt Academy and its students did not have an impact on entrepreneurship and businesses in Middelburg in the retail section. This because students do not have enough money to represent a significant portion of the revenues made. Even with Roosevelt Academy included this extra revenue is not enough to stimulate new entrepreneurs for retail business.

An extension to the project would be to look for possible influences of the Roosevelt Academy student population  on other sections of commercial business. An intuitive suggestion would be to look at Roosevelt Academy expenditure for bars and dance-café’s  in Middelburg. For example, last week a new dance-café opened called “Bumpers”.  To see if the student population motivated this entrepreneur to begin would be an interesting extension.

Sources

Chatterton, P. (1999) University students and city centres - the formation of exclusive geographies - The case of Bristol, UK. Geoforum 30(2)

Kabir, S., M., H. (2007) Strategic Planning in Municipal Government: the Case of City of Ottawa. Canadian social science

Munro, M., Turok, I. & Livignston, M. (2009) Students in cities: a preliminary analysis of their patterns and effects. Environment and Planning 41(8)

Proudfoot, M., J. (1937) City Retail Structure.  Economic Geography, 13(4)

Appendix

Data

Outcome interviews

Stand: Flower stand on the edge of the market square (Markt)

Interviewed: Woman approximately 40 years old and an employee of the stand.

1.       20  years the stand exist.

2.        On the market because a lot of people walk by

3.       The shop hasn’t expended but that is because of their license for that exact place on the market.

4.       A lot of different people go to the stand but especially mothers. Sometimes students buy flowers and when RA hosts a party or an open day they order flowers at the stand.

Shop:  (expensive) clothing for men. Peter Christ (Lange Delft 3)

Interviewed: a man approximately 30 years old and an employee of the store.

1.       The man does not know exactly but the shop exists longer than ten years.

2.       The shop exists in more places in the Netherlands and is located here because a lot of people come to the market square.

3.       The shop has expended in the way that it has got more stores through the Netherlands.

4.       Sometimes students buy clothes but not often. When a gala is coming, more students go to the shop.

Shop: De Drvkkery (Markt 51)

Interviewed: a woman approximately 60 years old at the information desk of the shop.

1.       The woman does not know exactly but the shop exists longer than ten years at this place.

2.       –

3.       The shop has expended but since a year not anymore because of the economic crisis.

4.       Many students but they contribute only for a small bit to the profit made. Students buy especially study books. The little restaurant within the shop also attracts students and students are important there to create a ‘young’ atmosphere.

Shop: Visgilde Middelburg (Markt 39)

1.       The shop was established approximately 30 years ago. The current owner bought the store in April 2011 and continued the existing activities.

2.       The location was picked by the current owner because there was already a similar business based in the building.

3.       As the current owner does not run his business longer than one year, he could not give a clear overview of expansion. Yet, he mentioned that there was a noticeable influence of the current economic crisis.

4.       The clientele of the Visgilde consists mostly of elderly people. Roosevelt Academy students are not frequent visitors of the business although on Fridays some students buy a portion of kibbeling.

Shop: FA J.B. Diesch babbelaars (Markt 23)

1.       This family business was established in 1892 on Lange Burg, with its entrance just around the corner of its current entrance on market square.

2.       The location was changed as a result of the bombardment of Middelburg in 1940 and the shop reopened shortly after the bombardment on this new location.

3.       During the last 7 years, the shop did not change

4.       Once in a while a student visits the shop but there is no strong influence of students on the sales. The establishment of RA as a whole does however influence sales as Roosevelt Academy orders small gifts for guest lecturers and speakers.

Shop: Linolux (Lange Viele 11-13)

1.       The shop opened approximately 10 years ago on this location.

2.       The same business also has a location on Gravenstraat.

3.       –

4.       There are not much students visiting this shop. Only sometimes in the summer a few students buy products for their rooms when they just moved in.

C.F.Diesch, Tabacoshop: (Markt 35)

This shop was founded in 1891 and has been part of the family business for three generations. The establishment at the Market Square is a privately owned house, on an attractive location. The shop was always specialized in tobacco, and its surrounding products. The owner chose  to diversify its products during the last decade, but this summer he has specialized again in tobacco products. The main argument was that the profit margin on tobacco was very low, therefore he chose to diversify. Later on, diversification turned out to be even less profitable, so specialization in tobacco was once again pursued.
While this trend was in the same period as the arrival of RA and it’s faculty and students, there was to causal relation between the two. The owner explicitly stated that students did not visit his shop that often, almost none at all. The explanation for this was that cigarette products were not sold, only and strictly tobacco, while students usually small cigarettes. Also RA as an organization was not involved in any business with the store.