Examine the causes and effects of the movement of retailing, service and manufacturing activities to new locations, including brownfield sites.
Key terms
Retailing - the buying and selling of consumer items.
Service - doing work for a customer (occasionally this can include retailing) but not involved in the manufacture of new products. Note that some services e.g. plumbing can be retail, service and manufacture rolled into one. The most appropriate way to think of this is whether the person is selling a product, or their time and expertise. If the latter, it's a service.
Manufacturing - the production of goods. Also known as industry.
Heavy industry - the production of large, heavy, bulky products such as railway engines, construction materials and industrial machinery.
Light industry - the production of lightweight and small items such as clothing and electronics.
Greenfield site - land that has not been built on before. In urban terms, this means parkland or farmland/wasteland at the city edge.
Brownfield site - land that has previously been built on (even if the building has been removed)
Science park - an area of land occupied mainly by research and development industries i.e. quaternary industry
Retailing revolution - the collective term for the changes to retailing that have occurred since the 1970s in most High Income Countries.
Town centre - the CBD
Out-of-town - the edge of the urban area (according to built up space, not metropolitan districts)
Inner city - the transition zone / area of poor quality worker's housing around the CBD and factory zone. Today this usually refers to areas of poverty with high density housing.
Public housing - residential areas provided by government authorities, usually for low income or at-risk individuals and families. This can also include housing provided by charities and organisations acting in place of government authorities.
Private housing - residential areas provided by the open market (i.e. owned and sold by private individuals)
Council housing - a type of public housing, which is built and maintained (and owned) by local government authorities.
Retailing - the buying and selling of consumer items.
Service - doing work for a customer (occasionally this can include retailing) but not involved in the manufacture of new products. Note that some services e.g. plumbing can be retail, service and manufacture rolled into one. The most appropriate way to think of this is whether the person is selling a product, or their time and expertise. If the latter, it's a service.
Manufacturing - the production of goods. Also known as industry.
Heavy industry - the production of large, heavy, bulky products such as railway engines, construction materials and industrial machinery.
Light industry - the production of lightweight and small items such as clothing and electronics.
Greenfield site - land that has not been built on before. In urban terms, this means parkland or farmland/wasteland at the city edge.
Brownfield site - land that has previously been built on (even if the building has been removed)
Science park - an area of land occupied mainly by research and development industries i.e. quaternary industry
Retailing revolution - the collective term for the changes to retailing that have occurred since the 1970s in most High Income Countries.
Town centre - the CBD
Out-of-town - the edge of the urban area (according to built up space, not metropolitan districts)
Inner city - the transition zone / area of poor quality worker's housing around the CBD and factory zone. Today this usually refers to areas of poverty with high density housing.
Public housing - residential areas provided by government authorities, usually for low income or at-risk individuals and families. This can also include housing provided by charities and organisations acting in place of government authorities.
Private housing - residential areas provided by the open market (i.e. owned and sold by private individuals)
Council housing - a type of public housing, which is built and maintained (and owned) by local government authorities.
Part 1: THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE MOVEMENT OF RETAILING
The Retailing Revolution
The Retailing Revolution
Since the 1970s, retailing has moved away from city centres towards out-of-town areas. Several factors have caused this:
The decreasing popularity of town centres
Town centres have become less popular due to:
The increasing popularity of out-of-town centres
These factors led the out-of-town shopping areas to become much more popular. Examples include:
The features of such areas are:
However, these projects are blamed with taking away from the vitality of the CBD. As shoppers leave the CBD, businesses there suffer a loss of income and close down. The result is a negative multiplier effect, or 'spiral of decline', as fewer shoppers are attracted to the lower quality of shopping experience.
- The behaviour of customers, preferring to shop away from congested and crowded town centres
- Retail organisations such as chain stores becoming more powerful
- Planning policies of governments
- The expansion of private transport (cars) to most of the population, so they can travel further to stores
- Development of better transport infrastructure, especially city edge ring roads (examples: the GRA in Rome, the M25 in London, Route 9 (also known as the New Territories Circular Road) in Hong Kong, and Interstate 287 in New York) allowing faster transport around the city than to the centre
- Demand for larger shopping floor areas as product diversity became more important (the range of products available in 2010 was significantly greater than in 1970)
- Mass-production of larger items such as furniture - the increasing consumer culture and lower quality but cheaper products - creating the need for much larger showrooms
The decreasing popularity of town centres
Town centres have become less popular due to:
- Congestion and other traffic problems making it harder to access the CBD
- More expensive public transport as government subsidies have been lowered in many HICs as governments attempt to reduce costs
- Competition from out-of-town shopping centres (see below)
- General urban decay
The increasing popularity of out-of-town centres
These factors led the out-of-town shopping areas to become much more popular. Examples include:
- The MetroCentre, Gateshead, UK
- New Town Plaza, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
- Porta di Roma, Settebagni, Rome
The features of such areas are:
- Built on greenfield land. This reduces cost because the land does not need to be cleared. In general these sites are flat (which allows easy construction), and the land is relatively cheap at the city edge.
- Near high income population. Because they are on the city edge, the 'local' customers are generally those with enough income to support a high standard of living.
- Near transport interchanges e.g. motorway junctions. This increases the threshold population i.e. the number of people who are within a certain journey time from the stores. It also means that deliveries are much more predictable (fewer traffic jams!) and cheaper.
- Large. Centres tend to offer a big number of shops which allows the full range of shopping to be done. This increases convenience and attracts larger numbers of customers.
- Indoor. Shoppers are attracted to the warmth, light and cleanliness of shopping centres.
However, these projects are blamed with taking away from the vitality of the CBD. As shoppers leave the CBD, businesses there suffer a loss of income and close down. The result is a negative multiplier effect, or 'spiral of decline', as fewer shoppers are attracted to the lower quality of shopping experience.
Case study: Merryhill Shopping Centre and Dudley, West Midlands, UK
Dudley is a small town in England. It has suffered since the opening of the MerryHill out-of-town shopping centre nearby.
The source of the following information is Urbanisation: Changing Environment (2nd ed.) by Corrin Flint and David Flint.
Dudley is a small town in England. It has suffered since the opening of the MerryHill out-of-town shopping centre nearby.
The source of the following information is Urbanisation: Changing Environment (2nd ed.) by Corrin Flint and David Flint.
Background
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Problems in Dudley
- Between 1989 and 1998, 27% fall in retail employment and 74% reduction in retail trade
The video below outlines the issues faced in the community as a result of the CBD losing shoppers.
Part 2: THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE MOVEMENT OF SERVICE INDUSTRIES
Service industries have largely remained in the CBD. This is because they rely on direct contact with people. However, office work has also moved.
There are four types of office:
Demand
Office space has increased due to increasing demand over the second half of the 20th century. The reasons are:
Central location
Offices are frequently still located in the CBD because of several factors:
Many companies continue to choose CBD loactions for new offices. For example, Google has offices on 8th Avenue in Manhattan, even though they do not need to be located in the central area.
Decentralisation
However, there has been a movement away from these areas. This is due to
Service industries have largely remained in the CBD. This is because they rely on direct contact with people. However, office work has also moved.
There are four types of office:
- Head offices
- Government offices (including national and regional/local government)
- Commercial offices e.g. banking
- Service providers e.g. estate agents, lawyers
Demand
Office space has increased due to increasing demand over the second half of the 20th century. The reasons are:
- Mergers of companies require more head office space
- New companies expanding (especially in finance and technology) means more office space is required compared to industrial space
- LIC and MIC development has led to a larger service industry in those countries
Central location
Offices are frequently still located in the CBD because of several factors:
- Easier contact with other organisations (functional grouping and agglomeration)
- Tradition
- Prestige (it looks good to have a city centre address)
- Proximity to decision makers
- Existing transport infrastructure
- Staff availability
- IT infrastructure is usually better in the CBD compared to outlying areas
Many companies continue to choose CBD loactions for new offices. For example, Google has offices on 8th Avenue in Manhattan, even though they do not need to be located in the central area.
Decentralisation
However, there has been a movement away from these areas. This is due to
- Rising office costs in the CBD
- Difficulty of expansion in a cramped CBD location
- Congestion leading to longer journey times
- Difficulty of finding parking spaces
- High cost of parking in CBD
- Higher staff costs due to competition for staff
Part 3: THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE MOVEMENT OF MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES
Manufacturing movement has largely moved entirely out of urban areas and now takes place in specially constructed areas. This deindustrialisation has been caused by:
The result has been decentralisation. This is a movement:
It is notable that at each point, greenfield sites are generally preferred. An example is the British motor industry. The following details are sourced from Geofile 532 'Changing Locations in the British Motor Industry' by Jeremy Boot (January 2007, pub. Nelson Thornes). The UK car industry has been in terminal decline for some time. There are now no 'home owned' car manufacturing companies operating at a mass scale. However, in 2005 over 1.1 million cars were exported from the UK. This is mostly due to the investment in British production by overseas car manufacturers who are attracted by the position of the UK within the EU. However, they open their factories at sites such as Burnaston (in the centre of the country) away from urban areas because of the lack of land and the relatively small number of employees that are required by modern industry. The Toyota factory at Burnaston employs only 3900 people (in 2004) and is located around 11km from the nearest small city of Derby.
Manufacturing movement has largely moved entirely out of urban areas and now takes place in specially constructed areas. This deindustrialisation has been caused by:
- Movement of industry to foreign locations, especially those in Newly Industrialised Countries
- Larger and more complext machinery needing greater space
- New industries creating the need for expansion of industrial areas
The result has been decentralisation. This is a movement:
- Firstly from the city centre to the suburbs
- Then from the suburbs to the very city edge
- From the city edge to out-of-town locations, especially those with bulk transport capabilities such as coastal locations and motorway junctions
It is notable that at each point, greenfield sites are generally preferred. An example is the British motor industry. The following details are sourced from Geofile 532 'Changing Locations in the British Motor Industry' by Jeremy Boot (January 2007, pub. Nelson Thornes). The UK car industry has been in terminal decline for some time. There are now no 'home owned' car manufacturing companies operating at a mass scale. However, in 2005 over 1.1 million cars were exported from the UK. This is mostly due to the investment in British production by overseas car manufacturers who are attracted by the position of the UK within the EU. However, they open their factories at sites such as Burnaston (in the centre of the country) away from urban areas because of the lack of land and the relatively small number of employees that are required by modern industry. The Toyota factory at Burnaston employs only 3900 people (in 2004) and is located around 11km from the nearest small city of Derby.
Part 4: WHY BROWNFIELD SITES?
There are several advantages of moving to a brownfield site. The opening statements below (before the ... ellipsis) are taken from the BBC Bitesize website.
Brownfield sites...
There are several advantages of moving to a brownfield site. The opening statements below (before the ... ellipsis) are taken from the BBC Bitesize website.
Brownfield sites...
- Are often on disused or derelict land...so there is little competition for the land, making it relatively cheap
- Are more available in the lower income areas of a region (but most housing demand is in the higher income areas)...making any available areas in the high income parts even more attractive and squeezing new residential areas into brownfield sites due to the lack of availability of greenfield sites. In the lower income areas, this land is usually very cheap with the advantage of being near existing urban infrastructure such as transport connections.
- Are valuable as existing buildings can be split up into more homes on any one site...and these frequently receive government assistance to be developed, as they are much more sustainable. They can also become highly attractive offices and houses, in line with gentrification and urban renewal.
- The site has already been developed so reduces urban sprawl...which is especially attractive in areas with physical boundaries such as rivers, coastlines and mountains e.g. Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro.
- Use unsightly areas for building developments, so improves the urban environment...which can create a positive multiplier effect (cumulative causation). This means that major regeneration projects on brownfield land can often receive government subsidies.
- Are found in urban areas, so building housing there reduces demand on car use...which is especially attractive for areas where there is a high demand for housing from low income groups.
- Are more expensive to build on as often the land needs to be cleared first (especially if land is contaminated from previous industrial use)...but once cleared the land value will be much higher than before, resulting in a potential for profit for the developer.