The Changing Commercial Structure of Non‐metropolitan Urban Centres and Vacancy Rates

Abstract

Utilizing data from 100 percent store‐by‐store surveys of five local communities undertaken by student interns during July in 1995 and 1997, the commercial structures of five non‐metropolitan centres in Ontario – Sturgeon Falls, Port Hope, Collingwood, Cobourg, and Sault Ste. Marie — are established and compared. The surveys include information related to store type, space, specific location, and employment. Trends in vacancy rates for the major components of the commercial structure (downtowns, shopping centres/plazas, arterial strips, and freestanding locations) in each community are established and discussed in the context of changes in: (1) demand, that is, market size as reflected by population and gross income; and, (2) supply, that is, competition generated internally from new commercial elements established locally, or externally from the more attractive commercial facilities in larger metropolitan centres. While vacancy rates indicate a degree of over‐storing they vary considerably. In general, the downtowns in these communities are not dead, and it is shopping centres/plazas that are suffering the most from internal and external competitive supply‐side pressures. On a établi et comparé la structure commerciale de cinq centres non métropolitains de l'Ontario – Sturgeon Falls, Port Hope, Collingwood, Cobourg et Sault‐Sainte‐Marie – et ce à partir de donnees tirees de sondages effectués auprès de tous les magasins des cinq villes par des étudiants en juillet 1995 et 1997. L'information ainsi recueillie portait sur le genre de magasin, l'espace, l'emplacement et la main‐d'oeuvre. On a indentifié les tendances dans les taux d'inoccupation des composantes majeures de la structure commerciale (centres‐villes, centres commerciaux, voies à grande circulation, emplacements autonomes), dans le contexte de modifications dans: (1) la demande, soit la taille du marché selon sa population et le revenu brut, et (2) l'offre, soit la concurrence produite à l'interne par de nouveaux éléments établis localement, ou encore a l'externe par les installations commerciales plus attrayantes des grands centres métropolitains. Si les taux d'inoccupation reflètent un certain excédent dans le nombre de magasins, ils varient considérablement. En général, les centres‐villes de ces communautés ne sont pas inertes, et ce sont les centres commerciaux qui souffrent le plus des pressions concurrentielles internes et externes provenant de l'offre.

Do Socio-Economic Characteristics Affect Travel Behavior? A Comparative Study of Low-Carbon and Non-Low-Carbon Shopping Travel in Shenyang City, China

“…Nevertheless, Carling et al [ 68 ] indicated that the majority of shopping activity has moved from downtown to edge-of-town, such that shopping activity there is now 10 times higher than that downtown. Hence, in many developed countries, suburban shopping centers have come to dominate the retail structure in metropolitan areas, resulting in the deterioration of Central Business Districts [ 18 ]. As the inner city regional commercial centers of Xita-Beishi, Beihang, and Tiexi mainly serve residents in the closely-surrounding areas, most residents prefer to travel to these regional commercial centers by low-carbon transport modes, with the exception of Xita-Beishi, a specialty business street including flower markets, birds, fish, art, and antiques.…”

“…The function of commercial centers is to supply goods and services to meet the needs and desires of the public [ 17 ]. In many advanced countries, one of the most marked changes in the spatial retail structure of cities since the beginning of the 20th century is decentralization [ 16 , 18 ]. On the one hand, China’s metropolises are following the same path, with suburban shopping malls, large supermarkets, and new formats to serve surrounding suburban residents [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Analyzing the effect of mid-rise development on retail vibrancy in the Beach

“…Another methodology commonly used in retail development literature employs a mixed methods approach to explore the dynamics of retail and the role it plays in the community. Statistical analysis of secondary data and qualitative interviews with stakeholders are used to either compare a small number of geographically-defined areas (Linovski, 2012;Yeates and Montgomery, 1999) or evaluate the impacts of a particular event within a single area (Crosby et al, 2005). The scale at which this research is done can vary quite significantly, from a street segment, to a neighbourhood, and finally to an entire city.…”

Reducing Carbon Emissions from Shopping Trips: Evidence from China

“…In many Western cities where suburbanization has progressed over several decades, the retail structure in metropolitan areas has become dominated by suburban arterial strips and shopping malls [8]. In contrast, suburbanization in Chinese cities is still at a relatively early stage, and the commercial and service sectors remain in the center of the city, creating a strong accumulation effect of traffic [9,10].…”