Winners and Losers in the Transformation of City Centre Retailing in East Central Europe

Abstract

In the 1990s, retail networks were transformed dramatically in East Central European countries. This paper focuses on the transition of the inner spaces of Czech and Hungarian cities that has been accelerated by large-scale retail investments that formed new foci for retailing, differentiated city centre shopping facilities and changed the frequency, direction and length of shopping trips. In this way, new dimensions of social inequality emerged within cities. The differentiation process rests on the capacity for adaptation to changes in the retail network and shopping behaviour, which correlates strongly with the social status of shoppers. The changes are also put in the context of urban/regional planning which, to date, has not articulated adequate answers to emerging social and land use conflicts.

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