Development and classification of shopping centers in Czech and Slovak republics: A comparative analysis

Abstract

Modern shopping centers of the "West-European" type have existed in the Czech and Slovak republics since 1997 and 2000, respectively, i.e. for less than two decades. Despite this rather short period they have become synonymous with the most significant transformations both in shopping behaviour and in the more generally understood patterns of social and cultural behavior of all population groups (entertainment and leisure time utilization). This article compares similarities and differences in the temporal, spatial and functional structures of shopping centers in two countries that had, until 1993, developed for seventy years as a single state, and which have demonstrated significant similarities in their economies, cultures and societies even after the separation.

Transformation and Sustainable Development of Shopping Centers: Case of Czech and Slovak Cities

“…The second group focuses on the classification of shopping centers in Czech and Slovak cities. The classifications, based on the typical methods of shopping center assessment, are made according to the following criteria: (i) Genesis on brownfields or greenfields, (ii) location in the city, (iii) size of the gross leasable area [6,33,[48][49][50].…”

“…The authors created this unique database by combining these sources. On the national level, the first group of methods is based on the description of temporal and spatial aspects of the shopping centers' development in both countries [6,16,19,46,47]. The second group focuses on the classification of shopping centers in Czech and Slovak cities.…”

“…There are many suggestions for classifying shopping centers provided by various authors [6,33,47,77]. In our study, we have chosen three elementary classification criteria: (i) According to their genesis in brownfields or greenfields, (ii) according to their localization within a city, and (iii) according to their size.…”

“…The point is not just in the specific appearance of shopping centers, but mainly in the economic, social, and cultural impact they have on the city and society [2]. One of the most fundamental impacts that the existence of shopping centers has is their influence over the change of long-term patterns of shopping behavior and shopping habits with most population groups [3][4][5][6][7].…”

From School Benches Straight to Retirement? Similarities and Differences in the Shopping Behaviour of Teenagers and Seniors in Bratislava, Slovakia

“…Due to the size of the population, the difficulty of data collection and the variability of urban retail in Bratislava, research efforts focused on five shopping centres (Aupark, Avion Shopping Park, Bory Mall, Centrál and Eurovea). In terms of their location, these cases are typical examples of busy shopping centres in the historic centre (edge-ofcentre), out-of-centre and out-of-town (Križan et al, 2017). According to the GLA, these five are largest shopping centres in Bratislava, and according to recent research they are the most attractive (Kunc et al, 2016) and the most visited (Križan et al, 2015) centres.…”