Twentieth‐century Retail Change in the Halifax Central Business District

Abstract

The Halifax downtown area has experienced considerably change in the amount, type, and location of retailing in this century, exemplifying many processes and patterns typical of North American cbds. Owing to increased competition from suburban business districts, retail activity has remained fairly constant in absolute terms but has declined relative to the rest of the urban area. In response, the mix of downtown retailing has been reoriented to emphasize the district's comparative advantages, cbd retailers have differentiated their goods and services from those of suburban competitors but have also attempted to provide settings and amenities ‐ notably, indoor malls and off‐street parking ‐ which mimic those found at suburban shopping centres. Such changes are investigated in this case study by means of two broad questions: (1) how and why has the cbd's overall mix of retail types changed through time, and (2) how and why have changes occurred in the location of retailing and retail types within the cbd?

The Story of a Commercial Street: Growth, Decline, and Gentrification on Gottingen Street, Halifax

“…23 24 Not surprisingly, the diversity of commercial uses on Gottingen increased from 1913 to 1920 as the wartime economy brought growth to the port, the east coast base of Canada's military. 25 The North End suffered great destruction in 1917, with the explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax harbour: 2000 perished and waterfront industry was hard hit, with the loss of many jobs. 26 Some specialty goods and services stores began to appear by 1920 among the profiled properties.…”

The Story of a Commercial Street: Growth, Decline, and Gentrification on Gottingen Street, Halifax

“…24 Not surprisingly, the diversity of commercial uses on Gottingen increased from 1913 to 1920 as the wartime economy brought growth to the port, the east coast base of Canada's military. 25 The North End suffered great destruction in 1917, with the explosion of a munitions ship in Halifax harbour: 2000 perished and waterfront industry was hard hit, with the loss of many jobs. 26 Some specialty goods and services stores began to appear by 1920 among the profiled properties.…”

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

“…The commercial structure of an urban area, which supplies goods and services to a local community, is related to the size and wealth of the market that it serves and the changing nature of competition (Millward and Winsor, 1997). As a consequence, this study focuses on market-based, supply-side, and associated competitive indicators of change.…”