Commercial Buildings in Town. The Influence of Discount Shops on the Trade Structure of a Small Town

Agnieszka Szumilas,Pawel Pach

doi:10.3390/buildings11120585

Agnieszka Szumilas, Pawel Pach

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings11120585

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Abstract

Changes taking place in the spatial structure of trade in cities have been very dynamic in recent decades. The goal of the research was to determine the dynamics and direction of changes in shaping the traditional commercial structure of small towns, in the context of discount shops location. The subject matter of the research constituted more than ten towns in southern Poland. Traditional shops located there were analysed in terms of their location, the profile and length of their activity. Studies on global trade development processes are available, as well as detailed research results on individual trade assumptions. On the other hand, there is a research gap regarding studies involving the location of commercial buildings, especially in small towns. The research results are a valuable source of information for representatives of various scientific disciplines as well as city authorities. The presented research provides knowledge and constitutes the basis for further research for representatives of various research fields. The areas with the most intensive commercial activity in the last 30 years were correlated with the number of inhabitants. For a selected group of towns, their binding urban planning documentation was verified with respect to specifications facilitating or excluding the establishment of discount shops. The conclusions reached on the basis of the research do not confirm a popular view that discount shops have a negative effect on urban space. The performed analyses indicate that there is no simple relation between a discount shop location and the decreasing number of traditional shops in the investigated cities. The presented research results gain an additional advantage—they form an archive of the development of commerce structure in towns in the period starting with the fall of the centrally planned economy and finishing with the COVID–19 pandemic. The presented material forms a basis for further urban studies which will use the experience gained at this stage

Highlights

IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
That the main commercial area in no simple relation between the location of a discount shop and the decreasing number of small towns is concentrated near a market square and the streets leading to it, frequently traditional shopsthey in the investigated towns
There are trends connected with the are important routes going to, e.g., a railway station, regardless of the location dynamics of theorincrease inopening the number of traditional shops that observed in arrangement three types and of the the year of a discount shop

Summary

Introduction

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. While town functions underwent numerous changes at the turn of the centuries, trade remained an inseparable part of town activities. The development of towns and commerce should be treated as one entity [1]. With changes observed in contemporary cities, their development and the growing importance of individual transport, the exchange of goods was modified. The structure of commerce in a town undergoes constant changes triggered by both local factors and spatial conditions, or a local policy in this respect. One should remember about the specific conditions of individual regions of Europe and the world. While processes related to the development of international trade can be considered globally, when analyzing specific locations, one should remember about local conditions

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