Densities or Concentrations of Retail Outlets—Changing Conditions of Availability

The number of outlets grows in response to population, and outlets are usually established along roadway systems. Outlet counts are either in terms of population densities (numbers of outlets per person) or geographic densities (numbers of outlets per kilometer of roadway). In developed societies, people may easily drive or use public transport to obtain alcohol. The number of outlets may be restricted directly or indirectly through policies that make licenses more difficult to obtain (e.g., by increasing the cost of a license). Several states limit the number of alcohol outlets and control the price of alcohol by maintaining state-run (rather than privately owned) outlets.