A comprehensive analysis of the issues involved in planning for and
facilitating successful street commerce
Street commerce has gained prominence in urban areas, where demographic
shifts such as increasing numbers of single people and childless empty
nesters, along with technological innovations enabling greater
flexibility of work locations and hours, have changed how people shop
and dine out. Contemporary city dwellers are demanding smaller-scale
stores located in public spaces that are accessible on foot or by public
transit. At the same time, the emergence of online retail undermines
both the dominance and viability of big-box discount businesses and
drives brick and mortar stores to focus as much on the experience of
shopping as on the goods and services sold. Meanwhile, in many
developing countries, the bulk of urban retail activity continues to
take place on the street, even as new car-oriented shopping centers are
on the rise. In light of such trends, street commerce will play an
important role in twenty-first-century cities, particularly in producing
far-reaching benefits for the environment and local communities.
Although street commerce is deeply intertwined with myriad contemporary
urban visions and planning goals--walkability, quality of life,
inclusion, equity, and economic resilience--it has rarely been the focus
of systematic research and informed practice. In Street Commerce,
Andres Sevtsuk presents a comprehensive analysis of the issues involved
in implementing successful street commerce. Drawing on economic theory,
urban design principles, regulatory policies, and merchant organization
models, he conceptualizes key problems and offers innovative solutions.
He provides a range of examples from around the world to detail how
different cities and communities have bolstered and reinvigorated their
street commerce. According to Sevtsuk, successful street commerce can
only be achieved when the private sector, urban policy makers, planners,
and the public are equipped with the relevant knowledge and tools to
plan and regulate it.
