50 MILE
Dan Mikesell

Global commerce erases the identities of localities. The same store in different cities around the world offers precisely the same experience in each. Resources are depleted in the effort to blanket the world with this sameness.

50 Mile would be different: it would celebrate and reinforce locality, functioning both as a retail outlet and a portrait of a place. The concept is simple: each 50 Mile store would only stock goods produced within 50 miles of that store. All produce would be local produce, all clothing locally made. It would feature the work of local artisans as well as the products of local industry. Each store would be uniquely designed according to plans submitted by local architects, and would either be located in pre-existing abandoned spaces or using materials made in or salvaged from the area. Long-haul transportation and its associated cost, both financial and environmental, would be eliminated. What would emerge would be a portrait of a city comprised of what that city makes. Residents would know that products purchased in a 50 Mile store support the community at every level.

Jury's Title: Fosters local economies