Begone, Euclid!: Leasing Custom and Zoning Provision Engaging Retail Consumer Tastes and Technologies in Thriving Urban Centers

Abstract

Is urban center retailing in a death spiral? Competition for consumers with Internet vendors is afoot; winners and losers shall be anointed. The threats to physical retailing in an era of the “Internet of Goods” initially are described below. Adaptations by tenants, landlords, and stakeholders in urban centers will be required quickly, and new perspectives and partnerships, including those among local and regional governments, are instrumental if physical retail operations in municipal cores are to survive. The balance of this article describes these needs from the vantage point of each stakeholder; but this article argues that integrating information and communication technological infrastructure into retail leasing practices and land use planning and zoning strategies is inescapable for the maintenance of resilient town centers. Part II of this article describes the overwhelming impact of Internet consumerism upon physical retailing while Part III explains the physical milieu’s remaining but shrinking opportunities to remain competitive with the online consumer realm. Parts IV and V demonstrate how information and communication technologies, with innovative strategizing by retailers and their landlords, can be leveraged to incite lasting consumer interest in physical shopping environments within a community’s commercial nodes. Parts VI and VII articulate the municipal imperatives, including policies to implement robust technology infrastructure and capitalizing on ICT’s inherent “intelligence,” required to maintain commercial core competitiveness.