UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABILITY IN CLONE TOWN BRITAIN
In 2003, the British government initiated the Sustainable Communities Act to regenerate town centers across the United Kingdom. To investigate this policy’s impact, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) conducted a survey in 2004, dividing towns into 'home towns' and 'clone towns'. These categories were based on their clone town score, the ratio of independent businesses to chain stores in town centers. Home towns were towns with a high ratio of traditional stores to chain stores, while clone towns had a high ratio of chain stores to traditional stores. The NEF hypothesized that home towns would be more sustainable than clone towns. This study investigated this hypothesis by analyzing economic, social, and environmental sustainability in six towns across London. The study’s findings indicated that a town’s clone town score has little impact on its social sustainability and environmental sustainability but was far more impactful on its economic sustainability.