The role of shopping centres in the metropolization process in Fortaleza (Brazil) and Lisbon (Portugal)

Abstract

Considering that shopping centres are increasingly connected with global capital flows, this article focuses on the role of this retail concept in the process of metropolization. Using Lisbon and Fortaleza metropolises, we have developed a case study methodology to unfold the relationship between the spatial dissemination of shopping centres and the evolution of both metropolises. We have concluded that internationalisation of capital through investments in the shopping centres has produced urban-based impacts, visible both in the production of new centralities and in the consolidation of existing ones, which as a whole strengthens and enhances the metropolization of the studied areas.

Tourism and Authenticity: Analyzing Retail Change in Lisbon City Center

“…Overall, during the period of 1995-2007, it is this transformation of the city and region into a more polycentric organization [76] that is captured in the remaining maps. Firstly, the absolute and percent variance of the number of outlets is in line with studies that show how the urban evolution of the city proceeds [77]. In a broader picture, the data demonstrate the loss of retail in the inner city, as well as the opposite evolution of the other less central areas of the city.…”