Managing decline in inner city retail centres: From case study to conceptualization

Abstract

This article focuses around a study of declining shopping provision in Hyson Green, a deprived area of inner Nottingham, since 1973. It starts by reviewing issues surrounding inner city retail decline that prompt policy concerns, including aspects of health and diet, local economy, environmental impacts, urban structure and social considerations. Hyson Green has undergone major upheavals since the 1960s including construction and subsequent demolition of extensive local authority housing, the development of a superstore, and construction of a tram route. Mainstream retail outlets declined from 138 in 1977 to just 48 units. However, recent policies enabling conversions to community and residential uses have stemmed the growth of vacant units, particularly at the extremities. Berry's conceptualization of commercial blight, derived in Chicago in the 1960s, provides a framework for understanding policies addressing shopping decline both in the case study and potentially more generally in similar areas of shopping contraction.