Territorial and Economic Evolution of Retail in Flanders: Post-Pandemic Suburbanisation and Dispersion?

Zaman, Jan and Pols, Alban and Boots, Jan and Declerck, Mathias and Prinsen, Saartje (2025) Territorial and Economic Evolution of Retail in Flanders: Post-Pandemic Suburbanisation and Dispersion? URBAN INNOVATION: TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO CITIES HAVE GONE BEFORE. Medium sized cities and towns as a major arena of global urbanisation. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2025, 30th Intl. Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 861-871. ISSN 2521-3938

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Abstract

In this study, we study a short period (2009-2023) where detailed and (more or less) consistent data are available for publicly accessible functions. “Locatus” database data for Flanders are made available from 2009 until the end of 2023. Initial analyses show that not all data are kept for the full period, so we need to make the right selection and correction first. In consultation with the members of the working group, a conversion table was made between the Locatus branches and the categories from the IHB decree In the spatial analysis, we compare the datasets with the historical version of land use plans from 2009, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022. For the combination with other functions, we will use the building block typology from ‘Segmentation VI’ (Zaman, De Mulder & Pennincx, 2022) in addition to the land use map. Following area typologies are screened for their usefulness in function of this study: Urban centers, ribbon development, dispersed development, Urbanised, peripheral, rural, Land use plan categories, Mobility score (public transport, walking cycling) of retail locations. Based on the findings and critical success factors, an analysis of planning permits (Socio-economic/ environmental permit for retail) will be carried out in the final phase. The urban development policy stems from the observation that certain functions move from the core to the periphery. The current behaviour of network densification could be at the root of the sprawl of activities. The network dweller, or polycentric urbanite, (Grünfeld, 2010) uses a ‘pallet of places’ in everyday life. At every moment of the day and for every activity, the network dweller seeks maximum gain according to the goals of the moment. Self-interest and comfort is central. He is multi-connected and has complete freedom to shape his choices. Not surprisingly, this freedom is strongly linked to the mobility options available today. The reasons to go out somewhere, go shopping, or walk school,... are based less and less on proximity than on other characteristics such as where friends live, the quality of the offer, ‘something new’, on the way to school or work,... Even the choices of place of residence are less definitive than before. The polycentric urbanite lives in a network of connected cores and places. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the widespread use of e-commerce comes on top of this: ordering and paying online, delivered a few days or even hours later, at home or at work. Within this context, we collectively want the centers of our cities and towns to remain vibrant, to have ‘something to do’. The general trends towards “pleasant”, “fast”, “on the way from A to B”, “digital”,.... often play to the disadvantage of the urban center, because it is easier (and cheaper) to offer this in places that are less complex and easier to control. Within this context, we collectively want the cores of our cities and towns to remain vibrant, to be dynamic and lived in; but there is little well-documented knowledge. While the impact of peripheral developments on the core has been widely depicted, there is little visibility on the opportunities to avoid the negative impact ‘ex ante’. The behaviour of network urbanisation per se does not seem to be a sufficient explanation of the declining attractiveness of town centers and high streets. Rather, the polycentric urbanist uses in a non-traditional way the opportunities offered by the distribution of activities in the polycentric network, the nebulous city, Città Diffusa (Francesco Indovina), carpet metropolis (W-J Neutelings) the horizontal metropolis (Secchi & Viganò), or the Zwisschenstadt (Thomas Sieverts). To explain the distribution of publicly accessible functions outside the cores, we look more closely at the forces behind it.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	GIS-analysis, territorial analysis, Retail evolution, Inner city suburbanisation, post-pandemic
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Depositing User:	REAL CORP Administrator
Date Deposited:	16 May 2025 08:48
Last Modified:	16 May 2025 08:48
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/1159

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