Lower-income American households are running out of money at the end of every month, the discount retailer Dollar General said as it released dismal results that drove its shares down more than 30 per cent for their sharpest one-day drop on record.
When the American economy is too rough for Dollar General...
Definitely depends on the area and a handful of variables, but I feel like there's an environmental argument to be had for frequent good deliveries to households.
It could be scheduled in a similar way as waste management and households just put in a recurring order that they could update every week with one off needs. Heck, it could even get fancy and offer to let you pick your produce at the door or van. It could be door-to-door or block-by-block with assistance for people that need it.
If this was a socially supported and accepted model for getting basic goods then a non-small amount of car trips would just not happen.
It would be really interesting if someone with a background in this and access to relevant numbers could see if something like that would be beneficial, or could think outside the box for other ways to make spread out metropolitan life slightly less environmentally shit (with the caveat that significant structural changes still need to happen obv).