Interviews with Northfield Business Owners and Citizens

    After doing significant research on what aspects of community design affect people's sense of community, I wanted to discover if Northfield citizens; and business owners' opinions supported this research.  I began the interview by citing one citizen's opinion about the closing of Jacobsen's Family Department Store.  I wanted to discover if my respondents believe that Jacobsen's has been a local institution that promotes a sense of community or if people think that there is no significance to the closing of Jacobsen's Family Department Store.   The second part of the interview focused on uncovering what other aspects of Northfield help build a sense of community for people.

    There are many people in Northfield who see Jacobsen’s Family Department Store as a local institution that promotes a sense of community in Northfield.  They are disappointed to see this third-generation family department store close.  One regular Jacobsen's customer stated, " This has been a clearinghouse for all types of information; somebody is sick,  it goes through here.  This is a place where you can schmooze and talk about town politics. It's really all about a sense of community."
 

What is your opinion of this person's view about Jacobsen's? Why do you hold this opinion?

Some people look at the closing of Jacobsen's differently and find that the store itself has no connection with promoting a sense of community in Northfield What is your opinion of these people's analysis of this situation?

Are there other stores, services, restaurants or other aspects of Northfield that build a sense of community for you?

What aspects of Northfield dissuade from this sense of community?