research-roundup

Year zero in the history of U.S. big-box stores was 1962: In that one year, the first Walmart, Target and Kmart stores opened. While the firms’ origins varied, their common focus was on deep discounts and suburban locations. Shoppers would arrive by car, not foot, so what mattered was highway access, acres of parking and massive scale.

The announcement in late 2014 that the United States and Cuba would resume relations has brought renewed focus to the complex and politically fraught history of the two countries. Cuban-Americans have long held intense feelings about their ancestral country, and deep issues of identity will continue to evolve as the political situation shifts.