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This study aims to identify the motivations, challenges and desires of the various actors working in contemporary downtown revitalization in mid-sized cities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the motivations, challenges and desires of the various actors working in contemporary downtown revitalization in mid-sized cities.
Design/methodology/approach
Using Spokane, Washington, as a case study, 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key players in downtown redevelopment, including public administrators, private developers and non-profit representatives.
Findings
Results indicate that those conducting renewal projects are primarily motivated by economics, but additionally cite heritage preservation values and community development as significant factors. Moreover, contemporary renewal projects are found to be small-scale endeavours, undertaken by individual private investors, as government involvement has significantly diminished. Revitalizers tended to express frustration with a lack of investor and public awareness regarding renewal opportunities, suggesting that increased information dissemination might promote further renewal work within mid-sized urban downtowns.
Originality/value
Findings provide insight into issues with neoliberal policies in addressing contemporary urban issues, and suggest a more nuanced understanding of contemporary urban development processes beyond the narrowly defined profit-driven paradigm.
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Emily Anderson, Chuck Chakrapani and Tony Hernandez
The purpose of this paper is to identify, using a case study, whether consumers in a metropolitan area can be meaningfully segmented geographically such that it can understand the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify, using a case study, whether consumers in a metropolitan area can be meaningfully segmented geographically such that it can understand the way they perceive and interact with the downtown district and to delineate the implications of the findings for business improvement area marketing initiatives from a management perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 650 visitors to downtown Toronto are interviewed using a pretested questionnaire. Their responses are related to their location within the metropolitan area. Correspondence analysis (CA) is applied to the data to visually identify possible market segments.
Findings
The analysis identified four distinct place‐based visitor segments. Each of these segments exhibited behaviour patterns that are distinct and intrinsically meaningful. The analysis further shows that perceptions and current interactions with the district are likely to change depending on where in the metropolis its consumers live.
Practical implications
Since visitor perceptions are place dependent, it is difficult to implement a single place marketing campaign that is relevant to each segment. The results suggest that it needs to develop communication strategies that are specific to each segment, incorporating an understanding of why they visit downtown, what they think of the area, what media they consume, how they get around and what their needs are in terms of lifestage.
Originality/value
By going beyond the traditional analysis of geographic variables and incorporating consumer response variables in the analysis, this paper provides a stronger basis for market segmentation and management action with regard to place marketing. The application of CA provides a visual way to understand the segments.
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To detail the changing nature of retail and service activity in Canada's downtowns and examine the role of business improvement areas (BIAs) in promoting downtown vitality.
Abstract
Purpose
To detail the changing nature of retail and service activity in Canada's downtowns and examine the role of business improvement areas (BIAs) in promoting downtown vitality.
Design/methodology/approach
The research is based on a combination of retail structural analysis and case study research. The structural analysis provides data on transitioning urban demographics and tracks retail and service activity sales change in Canada's major metropolitan downtowns. The case study reports an overview of findings from in‐depth research with the Downtown Yonge BIA. A small number of retail metrics are presented.
Findings
The paper highlights the significant suburb shift in retail activity across Canada's metropolitan areas and the associated challenges that this has resulted in for the downtown. The role of BIAs are outlined, and examined with reference to operation of the BIA concept within the downtown core of Canada's largest metropolitan market, Toronto.
Research limitations/implications
The research has been selective in focusing on the Downtown Yonge BIA, the experiences of BIAs across Toronto (and other Canada metropolitan areas) are likely to vary widely. Highlights the need to develop metrics to measure performance and compare BIAs.
Practical implications
The paper provides an interesting perspective on BIA strategies, with the selected metrics providing BIA managers and urban planners with a set of additional measures to assess BIA performance
Originality/value
The paper relates BIA planning to the development of performance metrics.
Details
Keywords
Osman Balaban and Jose Antonio Puppim de Oliveira
Shrinking population can have significant negative impacts on the social and economic fabric of a city. This paper aims to understand different urban transportation policies to…
Abstract
Purpose
Shrinking population can have significant negative impacts on the social and economic fabric of a city. This paper aims to understand different urban transportation policies to respond to population decline in shrinking cities by examining two case studies of urban interventions in mid-size cities in Japan.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the implementation of sustainable mobility strategies in the urban transport sector in the Japanese cities of Toyama and Kanazawa, which risk having their populations significantly reduced in the next decades. The analysis is based on case study research that uses the data and information collected through desk and field research. Interviews with local actors, as well as published policy and academic documents on the case studies provided critical data and information to analyze the case studies.
Findings
Both cities have tried to make urban mobility more sustainable via different strategies. Toyama used more structural changes, called the “sticks and dumplings” approach, having land use incentives and the Light Rail Transit reinforced by bus routes as the backbone of its strategy. Kanazawa relied on a city center revitalization plan to densify residential use in the city center.
Practical implications
More structural interventions are necessary to change the declining of shrinking cities, mitigating some of the negative effects. City administrations need to have clear policy priorities and should not allocate their limited resources to competing policy agendas.
Originality/value
The study is unique as it is one of the first efforts to analyze urban transportation interventions in shrinking cities in Japan.
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This paper aims to review multiple historical perspectives on urban regeneration interventions while also serving as a prologue to and the rationale for a Special Issue of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review multiple historical perspectives on urban regeneration interventions while also serving as a prologue to and the rationale for a Special Issue of the Journal of Place Management and Development (JPMD) on Placemaking and Sustainable Urban Regeneration in Japan.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the literature on city center regeneration, with particular attention to the USA and the UK contexts. The emphasis is on comparing and contrasting what have become known as the North American and European regeneration models. This background is helpful to place the Special Issue in a broad international context.
Findings
The key finding is that the history of planning city centers appears to be largely a response to urbanization and the problems it has brought forward. The papers in this JPMD’s Special Issue exemplify this finding with cases from Toyama, Kanazawa and Tokyo.
Originality
Cities are transformed as their centers grow and develop. City centers represent important anchor points in every community. However, evolving functional decentralization has occurred mostly due to changes in flows of capital, people, materials and other socio-economic transformations. The review shows how urban regeneration programs tend to be implemented to correct and or improve physical, socio-economic and environmental problems associated with functional and programmatic decentralization.
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Mona M. Abdelhamid, Amira Hassan El Hakeh and Mohamed M. Elfakharany
The paper aims to clarify threats facing heritage management in developing countries. It investigates the challenges facing the application of the historic urban landscape…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to clarify threats facing heritage management in developing countries. It investigates the challenges facing the application of the historic urban landscape approach (HUL) in the city of Alexandria in Egypt, where heritage is trapped between unplanned developments from one side and deterioration from another side.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses SWOT analysis regarding the heritage management approach of the historic site. Site observation, documentary reviews, an online questionnaire (due to the COVID situation) and some interviews with park visitors and shopkeepers have been adopted to capture the changes in the site management, specifically capturing the current status of the site.
Findings
The paper presented an empirical study covering the evolution of heritage management practices. It suggests that building and maintaining the synergy between the government, the private sector and the public is essential for the sustainability of urban development in the city of Alexandria. It also asserts that heritage is a major catalyst of urban regeneration in the city.
Research limitations/implications
This paper highlights major threats facing Alexandrian heritage. However, it lacks generalizability.
Practical implications
It suggests inclusive urban conservation strategies that are based on the HUL approach that would revitalize the historic core and assist in preserving both its tangible and intangible heritage. These strategies can help decision makers to develop more sustainable approaches in managing city heritage and achieving sustainable development of the city core.
Social implications
The paper presents a social implication through involving stakeholders in the sustainable revitalization project of Al-Shalalat district located in the city center of Alexandria.
Originality/value
The paper presents an empirical study that fulfills an identified need for adopting more sustainable strategies in heritage management in Alexandria.
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Lifestyle centres are emerging retail locations and yet have not been included in past studies of shopping centres. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how…
Abstract
Purpose
Lifestyle centres are emerging retail locations and yet have not been included in past studies of shopping centres. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how individual and retail characteristics impact consumers' patronage behaviours at three popular retail locations (i.e. central business districts, lifestyle centres, and traditional enclosed shopping malls) in the USA and understand consumers' perceptions of the three different retail locations.
Design/methodology/approach
A mail survey was conducted and 410 surveys were returned. Multiple regression analyses and t‐test were conducted to test proposed hypotheses.
Findings
This study revealed that shopping orientation, importance of retail attributes, and beliefs about retail attributes influence patronage behaviour (i.e. shopping frequency) at the three retail locations. Additionally, consumers' responses suggest that they did regard lifestyle centres differently from the central business district and the traditional enclosed shopping mall on many aspects of the retail attributes examined in this research.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited in that respondents were consumers of a specific geographic area with certain retail locations. Findings may not be generalizeable.
Practical implications
Understanding how consumers evaluate the three retail locations enables practitioners to develop and/or revise their retail strategies in order to be competitive in the current market.
Originality/value
This is the first study investigating consumers' perceptions of three major retail locations by including the newly emerging lifestyle centres in the USA.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine how shopping behavior of rural consumers is affected by perceptions of local retailers' social norm‐based activities and task‐oriented…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how shopping behavior of rural consumers is affected by perceptions of local retailers' social norm‐based activities and task‐oriented actions, and social capital within the community.
Design/methodology/approach
A mail survey is distributed using a modification of Dillman's method; 524 usable surveys are collected. Multi‐group analysis in structural equation modeling is employed for the data analysis.
Findings
The findings of the paper reveal significant relationships between institutional action and legitimacy, legitimacy and support, and value and support. The moderating effect of social capital on the relationships between institutional action and legitimacy, legitimacy and support, and value and support are significant.
Research limitations/implications
This paper extends previous research by including both social environmental factors (social capital), and retailers' social actions in explaining consumer support. Limitations of the research design are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.
Practical implications
This research provides rural retailers with ideas for marketing solutions that use socio‐norm related (i.e. institutional action) and task‐oriented (i.e. performative action) factors to attract local shoppers.
Originality/value
This research adds to the current stream of rural research by integrating institutional theory and social capital theory to propose a conceptual framework. This research is significant as the study results provide implications to rural retailers and further to the community, as the sustainability of the rural sector is closely related to the well‐being of the entire community.
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Charlette Padilla and Mary Ann Eastlick
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory examination of urban retail marketing and management strategies employed in six US cities with reputations for having…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an exploratory examination of urban retail marketing and management strategies employed in six US cities with reputations for having central business districts (CBD) that are either flourishing or developing. It also investigates the roles played by urban retailers in working with CBD revitalization efforts.
Design/methodology/approach
Depth interviews were conducted with economic development managers and urban retailer owners/managers from each CBD. Content analysis, preceded by a comprehensive review of academic and trade literature, was used to identify key concepts. An iterative coding process resulted in identifying broad strategic themes and related strategies.
Findings
Strategies were classified into three urban retailing and five economic revitalization themes. These strategies varied depending on whether cities had flourishing or developing CBDs.
Research limitations/implications
The study provided a systematic and comprehensive examination of strategies that may guide theory development and provide practical information on CBD redevelopment. Potential bias in results should be considered when evaluating results due to the use of qualitative methods and convenience sampling.
Originality/value
Information concerning similarities in the redevelopment efforts of six comparable US cities is provided.
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This paper seeks to explore leading theories and concepts in professionalising the emerging field of business district management.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to explore leading theories and concepts in professionalising the emerging field of business district management.
Design/methodology/approach
In the context of globalization and localization, it discusses distinctive place‐based elements of business improvement districts (BIDs), such as: law, nomenclature, assessment formulae, and branding; while suggesting and analyzing strategic international application of certain theories and concepts.
Findings
As an outgrowth of a literature review of globalizing cities, public administration, urban management, and BIDs together with semi‐structured interviews of respondents in connection with doctoral dissertation research and in view of co‐designing curriculum for and teaching a business district management certification program; research reveals that public entrepreneurship, social capital, network governance, and performance management can transcend disciplines and cut across sectors to be key theories and concepts for education and training of business district managers worldwide. However, management training is to be contextually developed consistent with branding techniques for the business district.
Practical implications
Future research and evaluation of BIDs in the globalizing metropolis can ground theory to inform best practices and professional standards that will enable similarly situated business districts across the globe.
Originality/value
Examining BID management is not new, however the thrust toward professionalising the field is new.
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