Special Issue "Cities and Retail: Sustainable Transformation of Retail in Urban Environments"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Geography and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pedro Guimarães
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Geographical Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning, Lisbon University, 1600-276 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: urban geography; retailing; gentrification; urban resilience; retail planning policies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The geographies of retailing have for a long time been an established field of research within urban studies. Considering the intrinsic relation between cities and retail, in recent decades, studies have ranged their focus in a significant variety of axes. Among others, we can enhance: (i) the relevance of research on the entrepreneurial transformation of the sector, especially with the appearance of large national and international chains that quickly gain a market share; (ii) the importance of specific retail formats, such as shopping centers, their role in the creation/consolidation of new retail centralities, and impacts on town centers; (iii) the increasing relevance of ecommerce and the current debate about multichannel and omnichannel. 

In the new millennium, a significant set of studies have recognized the increased relevance of retail, which is mainly the result of the growing incorporation of retail in urban policies. The wide range of retail-led urban regeneration initiatives developed in several countries attested to this evolution, as well as their analysis in scientific literature. Moreover, the recent transformation of retail in several urban contexts has also been characterized by the way it is related to specific processes of retail gentrification supported by local urban policies. Retail gentrification is thus emerging as a novel field of research to explain the evolution of retail in some urban areas, such as the ones experiencing excessive tourism. Some retail formats, such as traditional retail markets, have been particularly vulnerable, which is culminating in the gentrification of several of them. The same occurs with the commercial fabric of main city centers most visited by tourists; their transformation is usually linked to gentrification issues and is often the result of public policies that triggered or fostered such an evolution.

We invite authors to submit research that focuses on the transformation of urban retail. This Special Issue is particularly framed on the dialectic retail change vs. urban policies, a subject in which contributions will be of great significance to the scientific literature. Supported by this conceptual framework, we invite studies on topics including, among others, retail change, new forms of governance of shopping districts, retail gentrification (city centers, traditional retail markets, and other retail formats), and retail in tourist cities.

Dr. Pedro Guimarães
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • retailing
  • urban retail
  • urban policies
  • retail change
  • gentrification
  • traditional retail markets

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission, see below for planned papers.

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Management and marketing of shopping centers in the Czech Republic from the perspective of managers towards tenants and customers

Authors: Josef Kunc, František Križan, Markéta Novotná, Kristína Bilková
Affiliation: Masarykova Univerzita, Brno, Czech Republic

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to identify and evaluate marketing strategies of shopping centers in the Czech Republic. The methodological approach is built on an online questionnaire survey with top management of shopping centers (n=30) in winter 2020. We analyzed approaches of management to marketing activities, internal employees and tenants of the shopping center (retailers), as well as to customers. The main aspect on which the management of shopping centers places the greatest emphasis is profit, strong marketing tools are internet advertising and event marketing. The gastronomy and entertainment sectors in particular appear to be key for further development.

 

Title: Transformation and sustainable development of shopping centers: case of Czech and Slovak cities

Authors: František Križan, Josef Kunc, Kristína Bilková, Markéta Novotná
Affiliation: Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to critically evaluate the similarities and differences in the development of temporal and spatial structure of shopping centers in Czech and Slovak Republics. We focused on the retail transformation and sustainable manifestations of the location and construction of shopping centers. Results indicates that the development of shopping centers in Slovakia is delayed in all monitored parameters, which is caused by the long-term historical economic lag of Slovakia, but also by its geographical location (west-east gradient). On the other hand, currently few Slovak cities have a higher retail development potential than Czech cities.

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