Ideas - Pedestrian Shopping Streets
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Brambilla and Longo, in their 1976 study, The Rediscovery of the Pedestrian - 12 European Cities, noted four major goals in urban revitalisation: reduce traffic congestion; halt environmental deterioration; improve retail conditions; and place a focus on the urban core for activities. Their European study found that ‘pedestrian districts in operation for over 25 years (i.e., Essen, Germany and Rotterdam, Holland) have reported an increase of 35 to 40 percent in their annual business volume (Brambilla & Longo 1976, pg. 11).’ Nonetheless, there have been failures and problems. The increase in tourism, although economically beneficial, had actually resulted in a deterioration of the quality of shopping experience in some city centres due to a lower quality of merchandise aimed at satisfying transitory tourist shopping habits. In the case of Amsterdam, the merchants reported dissatisfaction with that city’s nine pedestrian streets. By the 1970s, major commercial establishments had left Amsterdam’s centre in favour of the outlying areas where the local population was increasingly located. Amsterdam’s city centre became the location of tourists, youth, and exclusive residences. This has resulted in a segregated social mix and a loss of quality urban shopping. Additionally, these pedestrian streets lacked appropriate street furniture, display cases, and special lighting fixtures that would help to highlight the urban shopping experience. Luckily for Amsterdam, tourists still flock there and fill the streets every year which, if nothing else, still animates the city centre and supports economic activity. In many ways, this is the same case with Old Montréal, as shopping caters to tourists and housing is primarily at the higher end of the real estate market. |