Retail planning policy in master plans and city planning decisions for large-scale retail stores

Abstract

This paper explains the city planning decisions on building large-scale retail stores outside the built-up areas of Nara. The city approved a strategic plan under the Act on Vitalization of the City Center in conformity with the master plans of Nara prefecture and the city of Nara. Both master plans are aimed at accumulating more stores in the city center and developing retail areas along main roads in order to overcome existing deficiencies. Therefore, planning councils did not examine the negative effects of large-scale stores in the city center and decided that built-up areas should be expanded to accommodate large-scale stores. However, large-scale stores clustered in residential districts and it was clarified that the actual land use does not match the assigned type of zoning.