Retail Apocalypse as a Differential Urbanisation Symptom? Analysis of Ground Floor Premises’ Evolution in Barcelona between 2016 and 2019

Abstract

The current health and economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has accentuated some of the trends that began with the counter-reform of capitalism in 1970. This paper deals with one of those trends—the retail apocalypse. The starting hypothesis is that this phenomenon takes part in an implosion (the massive and permanent closing of retail premises in agglomeration) and an explosion (a change of land uses in an urban agglomeration and beyond). In order to determine the reach of those trends, the last two commercial censuses of the City Council (2016 and 2019) are analysed using a one-to-one relation matrix and map representation. This phenomenon, which is not just economic but also urban, is expressed differentially according to the dynamics between the upper and lower circuits of the urban economy. An implosion is detected as a general form for the whole city; in contrast, an explosion is expressed in more dynamic areas.