Transformation in Retailing Behaviour, Patterns and Spatial Settings: The Case of the City of Trabzon

Abstract

This paper investigates the spatial distribution and transformation of retailing and services in the city of Trabzon, which is historically a monocentric city and which has been in a process of changing into a polycentric form following the population and spatial growths of the city and the development of its trade and commerce. A questionnaire survey was conducted by Aydin in 2001 in 26 neighbourhoods of the city to quantify the distribution of central functions among them in order to understand the transformation in time, and comparisons were made with the findings of earlier studies made by Aydemir (1978, Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi Trabzon Alt Bölgesi (TBAB) Kentsel Etki Alanlarının Saptanması İçin Yöntem: Etkileşim Esası (İstanbul: İTÜ, Mimarlık Fakültesi)) and Trabzon Analytical Study (1968, İller Bankası, Ankara, Güzel Sanatlar Matbaası A.Ş.) to show the transformations in terms of quality, quantity and spatial dispersion. However, the transformation is ongoing since 2000 in the form of first shopping markets then shopping centres and the large shopping malls. The main findings of the paper are the changes in the number and quality in retail shopping, increasing specialization in central functions and spatial dispersion towards sub-centres which are not planned according to the current development plan. Therefore, there is a need for a planned development of these sub-centres and shopping centres in order to prevent a misuse of scarce land, which will be needed for further use in the future.