Basis for the Continued Existence of Traditional-style Commercial Streets: A Case Study of West Broadway in Vancouver

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  • バンクーバー市ウェストブロードウェイにおける在来型商業地の存続基盤
  • バンクーバーシ ウェストブロードウェイ ニ オケル ザイライガタ ショウギョウ

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Abstract

The commercial districts of North American cities, especially the retail districts, are mainly located in downtown or suburban areas. In the past few decades, several articles have been devoted to the study of cities, but so far the study of retail streets which lie between downtown and suburban areas has been superficial. The purpose of this paper is to examine the composition of a traditional-style commercial street in Vancouver's inner area and find the reasons for its continued existence.<br> The study area of this article is West Broadway (from Larch St. to Collingwood St.) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This area is located on the south side of English Bay, and its length is about 1.5km. A middle-to-high-class residential area surrounds the West Broadway shopping district.<br> As regards the composition of buildings and activities, there are few medium-rise buildings on the street. Looking at ground-floor activities, most floor-uses comprise retail shops, restaurants, cafes, and other service shops. There are more “shopping-goods” shops than “convenience-goods” shops. How-ever, the total frontage length of the latter is nearly equal to that of the former. Quite a few ethnic shops are located on West Broadway : nine Greek shops, three Japanese shops, three Chinese shops, one Spanish shop, one Mongolian shop, and one Italian shop. West Broadway takes on the aspect of a gourmet street, because the most of, the ethnic shops are either restaurants or cafes, and these at-tract many customers. On the other hand, there are some new condominiums which have shops on their ground floors. It is clear that the majority of condo residents are good customers of the shops on West Broadway.<br> As the basis for the continued existence, there are six social and economic factors involved. First, a middle-to-high-class residential area is located around West Broadway. Second, there are many conven-ient parking spaces along West Broadway, or at the rear of its shops. Third, ethnic shops make West Broadway an attractive gourmet street. Fourth, West Broadway has an unique personality which can-not be found in suburban shopping centres. Fifth, “yuppies” favour West Broadway as a fascinating “space”. Sixth, on West Broadway supermarkets and smaller retail businesses coexist. All of these fac-tors combine with beneficial multiplier effects, and in consequence, they provide a very firm basis for the continued existence of this traditional style of commercial street.

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