Exploring the transformation and challenges facing urban commerce in the twenty-first century, this book analyzes the retail apocalypse, the decline of shopping malls, commercial gentrification, the evolution of brick-and-mortar stores and touristification.
Urban Retail Geographies provides readers with an in-depth exploration of the ongoing shifts in urban retail landscapes, offering insights into the factors reshaping commerce in modern cities. The book delves into issues such as the decline of traditional retail, the restructuring of city centres, and the challenges of balancing tourism and local commerce. Contributors explore the complexities of retail in urban contexts, examining how shifting economic trends and consumer behaviours are reshaping cities. They provide a detailed examination of how urban commerce evolves, reflecting broader social and spatial changes. By combining theoretical insights with diverse international case studies, the book delivers both academic analysis and practical strategies for stakeholders. Readers will benefit from a holistic view of how retail is evolving, supported by data-driven research and real-world examples from various global cities.
The book is aimed at academics and scholars across retail, marketing and urban studies who seek to understand the evolving relationship between commerce and urban development. It also provides actionable insights for urban planners, policymakers and retail professionals.
Exploring the transformation and challenges facing urban commerce in the 21st century, this book analyses the retail apocalypse, the decline of shopping malls, commercial gentrification, the evolution of brick-and-mortar stores, and touristification.
1. Introduction
2. Retail Geographies
3. Beyond the Retail Apocalypse:
The Future of Brick-and-Mortar Stores.
4. Planetary Urbanization and
Retail-Less Cities: Commercial Desertification in Catalonia
5. The Loss of
Commercial Vitality in City Centers: The Case of Oviedo
6. The Decline of
Malls Outside the United States: An Analysis in Two Cities Specialized in
Shopping Centers
7. Mapping of unused commercial spaces in Oviedo
8. Factors
of (re)location of logistics areas: the case of the Central Iberum Platform
in Illescas (Toledo)
9. Shopping Centers and Their Promotion as Safe Spaces
for Consumption and Social Contact During the Transition Through the COVID-19
Pandemic in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey, Mexico
10. Cities and
Commercial Activities at the Service of Tourism. Three Sicilian Case Studies
Compared
11. An analysis of the recent evolution of commerce in downtown
Lisbon. Tourism, touristification, and commercial gentrification
12. Policies
for the implementation of commercial urban agriculture in some western cities
as hypothesis for alternative food network: Exchange, trade, and regeneration
13. Conclusion: An Alternative Model for Urban Retail
Luis Alfonso Escudero-Gómez holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Santiago de Compostela. He is a senior lecturer in Human Geography at the Department of Geography of the University of the Balearic Islands. His research focuses on urban studies, with an interest in urban commerce, with a special emphasis on shopping centres and retail. He is the author of numerous publications, including complete books, as an editor of books and book chapters, as well as scientific journal articles.
Rubén C. Lois-Gonzįlez is Vice President of the International Geographical Union (IGU) and a Professor of Geography at the University of Santiago de Compostela. He specializes in Urban and Cultural Geography. He was also Director of the Center for Euroregional Studies Galicia-North Portugal. He has led several international and EU-funded projects, including SIESTA and multiple Spain-Portugal cross-border Interreg projects. He has authored over 200 books and chapters, and more than 150 articles in academic journals.
