THE QUESTION
Why do high-street shops keep closing?
Group cards you judge alike. Groups organise reading; they decide nothing.
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Clusters form from similarity, names come last
Canonical order: link pairs of ideas you judge similar — links are symmetric (A~B is B~A; direction never matters) and a tie holds once 2 members make it.
why
Links are symmetric — A~B is B~A. Clusters are the groups that emerge from held ties, and only a formed cluster can be named, by a person. Your own links carry a ✕ to withdraw; you cannot remove someone else's. Clusters organise the wall and never gate the vote — two cards making the same CLAIM are a merge back in Clarify.
Links and names are made while Cluster is live; the steward’s ← reopens it.
unnamed cluster — name it if the group has a common thread, or leave it unnamed (3)
Rent is due quarterly in advance, which a new business cannot fund
~ Rents were set when t… · helddiscussing (1)
Rents were set when the street was full and have not come down
The council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street
~ Rents were set when t… · helddiscuss
unnamed cluster — name it if the group has a common thread, or leave it unnamed (2)
Shops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at work
~ The bus stops on the … · helddiscuss
The bus stops on the ring road, ten minutes' walk from the shops
~ Shops open at ten and… · helddiscuss
unnamed cluster — name it if the group has a common thread, or leave it unnamed (2)
Planning permission for a flat above a shop takes longer than for a house
~ Grants exist for shop… · helddiscuss
Grants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease
~ Planning permission f… · helddiscuss
unnamed cluster — name it if the group has a common thread, or leave it unnamed (2)
Traders' association meetings are attended by the same five people
~ Events are organised … · helddiscuss
Events are organised by volunteers who are burning out
~ Traders' association … · helddiscuss
unnamed cluster — name it if the group has a common thread, or leave it unnamed (2)
The town's website lists shops that closed years ago
~ Nobody counts footfal… · helddiscuss
Nobody counts footfall, so every argument is about impressions
~ The town's website li… · helddiscuss
· not yet clustered (15)
The car park behind the street is unlit and unsigned
~ Residents drive past … · held~ Business rates on the… · held~ Parking costs more on… · held~ The retail park got i… · helddiscuss
The retail park got its road built by the county; the high street got a consultation
~ Business rates on the… · held~ Residents drive past … · held~ Parking costs more on… · held~ The car park behind t… · helddiscussing (1)
Deliveries block the street between nine and eleven
The one bank left and the older shoppers went with it
Business rates on the high street are higher per square metre than on the park
~ The car park behind t… · held~ The retail park got i… · held~ Parking costs more on… · held~ Residents drive past … · helddiscuss
The library closed early on Saturdays and the café next to it lost its trade
Half the units are owned by people who do not live in the town
The market moved to Wednesday and the shops' best day went with it
Charity shops pay lower rates, so landlords prefer them
Parking costs more on the high street than at the retail park, where it is free
~ Young families shop w… · held~ The car park behind t… · held~ Business rates on the… · held~ Residents drive past … · held~ The retail park got i… · helddiscuss
Residents drive past the high street on the way to the park
~ The car park behind t… · held~ The retail park got i… · held~ Parking costs more on… · held~ Business rates on the… · helddiscuss
Empty units stay empty for a year because the landlord is waiting for a chain
Young families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pram
~ Parking costs more on… · helddiscuss
Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep them
Shopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came in