Spatial modelling of commercial spaces in medium-sized cities

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2017

Autores

Saraiva, Miguel Marinho (Autor) FLUP; Pinho, Paulo (Autor) FEUP

Revista

Título: Geo Journal

Vol. 82

Páginas: 433-454

ISSN: 0343-2521

Editora: Springer Nature

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 21 Citações

Scopus - 22 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00K-11M

DOI: 10.1007/s10708-015-9694-7

Abstract (EN): The pattern of commercial spaces in a city has never been the consequence of chance. Retailers have always searched for the 'best location', but the notion of what exactly constitutes the 'best location' has changed over the decades. It is no longer a question of being close-to-market. It depends on an amount of social, economic and even morphological aspects of urban life, not to mention intrinsic aspects of the retail sector itself, namely new types of stores, products and purchase and payment options. Consequently, the methods retailers have employed to determine 'best location' have also evolved, and today increasingly complex mathematical and geospatial models are in use. It should then be safe to assume that commercial geography has changed and therefore, commercial hierarchies need to be re-invented, or at least challenged. A current trend in the literature is revealing more than ever the influence of commerce in the spatial and morphological re-configuration of cities. Thus, the understanding of modern retail patterns may be a key issue in interpreting and regulating the processes of urban, social and economic development. Using as test-beds four Portuguese medium-sized cities, commercial and morphological data was collected, analysed and compared, applying spatial analysis techniques. Similar patterns were found between the four cities, which led to the proposal of two geospatial commercial distribution models, one for the city-centre and one for the suburbia. These models shed a new light on the structure of Portuguese medium-size cities, and may well be valid in other medium and small towns across Europe.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 22