In 2015, the local supermarket of the depopulating village of Ulrum closed its doors. After a first survey around the closure, a second survey was conducted two years later, to investigate changes in the different meanings of the local supermarket and the perceived effects of its closure over time. The results show that respondents state that the liveability and status of the village have decreased because of the loss of the supermarket. This strongly relates to the symbolic and village level meanings of the supermarket: A village ‘needs’ a supermarket for the villages’ status and as a place to do groceries, and people feel that a village without a supermarket is a village without a heart. The article concludes by alleging that the symbolic meaning of facilities plays an important role in explaining the perceived effects of the loss of the local supermarket.

中文翻译：

---

乡村超市亏损的处理：关闭两年后的感知效果

2015 年，人口减少的乌尔鲁姆村当地超市关门大吉。在围绕关闭进行第一次调查之后，两年后进行了第二次调查，以调查当地超市不同含义的变化以及随着时间的推移关闭的感知影响。结果显示，受访者表示，由于超市的消失，村庄的宜居性和地位下降了。这与超市的象征意义和村级意义密切相关：一个村子为了村子的地位和做杂货的地方“需要”超市，人们觉得没有超市的村子是没有心的村子。