- Absorbing the Rapid Growth of Shopping Centre Development in Poland since the Political Change    click here to open paper content220 kb
by    Ledwon, Slawomir | slawomir.ledwon@gmail.com   click here to send an email to the auther(s) of this paper
Short Outline
The paper analyses the development of shopping centres in Poland, focusing on the planning process and urban integration. It discusses their relation to western origins as well as the adaptability of this development model for other countries.
Abstract
The end of the 90s was a breakthrough for Poland with respect to abrupt political change. The system transition gave freedom in many fields of life, including more possibilities in the real estate investment and market economy. Since that time all types of shopping centres were built, starting from the very basic first generation. In a short period of time they rapidly developed into the most current formats. It reflected their evolution in a nutshell and the gap between Poland and western countries was quickly filled. The availability of large spending power gave the possibility for new development, or even expansion and redevelopment of existing ones. Poland so far seems quite resistant to the global crisis. As the economic downturn will perhaps be soon coming to an end – new tendencies and new formats will also emerge. In Poland it was argued, whether shopping centres give better retail opportunities to the customer or are a threat to traditional retail and how they should be planned. In this context certain political measures were taken to hinder further development. New laws introduced, but eventually with no success.

The paper consists of an analysis of commercial retail development in Poland from the planning perspective since its political transition, with respect to quick development of shopping centres. It describes the types of shopping centres built in comparison to their western origins and discusses the planning system and procedures included in their development. Apart from that current trends and growth possibilities in the present market situation are discussed. It dispute about the ability to control the new development – weather it is possible to direct this great potential to serve higher means.
Keywords
shopping centres, planning
Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2012: Fast Forward: Planning in a (hyper) dynamic urban context
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