Sparking howls of protests from the retail industry, the government and ruling coalition decided Wednesday to ban commercial complexes with a floor space exceeding 10,000 square meters from opening in suburban areas.That last bit is a little whack, but at least hospitals and schools aren't banned entirely from the suburbs.
The planned bill to revise the City Planning Law would force, in principle, large commercial facilities, such as supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters and entertainment complexes, to open only in commercial and other designated districts of urban areas.
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Some retailers' strategies for survival hinge on large shopping centers in suburban areas, where land is cheaper, ample space can be secured for parking lots, and a single complex can attract hordes of customers.
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However, local shopping districts in urban areas are now suffering from a phenomenon known as "shutter streets." Store operators have been forced to close down as consumers increasingly spend their money in suburban shopping malls.
But after the revision, operators will be banned from opening huge outlets in suburban areas unless municipal governments redefine the purposes of such locations.
Special exemptions that have endorsed large-scale development projects in suburban areas with development plans will also be scrapped.
Public facilities, such as hospitals and schools, will also be required to obtain permission before relocating to the suburbs.
It'll be interesting to see if this anti-Wal-Mart bill passes, and if so what kind of effect it will have on Japan. Obviously we never had anything like that here; the deserted downtown area lined with empty storefronts is a common image in the US.
2 comments:
Now now. Deserted downtown areas aren't just a product of Wal-Mart and other big chain stores. At the end of the day, the fault really falls to downtown.
If there was enough going on downtown that it would draw the crowds it needs, then there'd be no problem. But trying to say that we shouldn't be able to buy the same thing cheaper elsewhere because they have to pay the bills and they can't afford to lower their prices is crazy talk.
Back when everyone walked everywhere, downtown parking wasn't an issue either. A lot of towns want to preserve their "downtown atmosphere", but they think the only way to do it is keep it just like it is, and make other companies or even the local government pay for what they want.
You put a movie theater with good parking, a real nice arcade, a good gym, and a real nice, well-priced resturaunt in downtown Nicholasville, and I'll bet more people'll be around.
But as it stands, there's a bunch of "well, maybe if I HAVE to" shops that nobody wants to go to. We apparently have a great wine store there, but I went in there once, and aint nothing in there that isn't half again as much as they'd ask you for at Rite Aid or even the poorly priced drive through liquor stores in town. So they have wine. So what.
Mom and Pop stores are great, but they just aren't working out that well anymore. Chances are, you'd get a better salary and better benefits if you closed your store and got into the larger retail industry. What, at the end of the day, are you providing that Walmart can't? Friendlier service? Better gift wrap? If Walmart were gone and we all had to go to a small grocery store, it aint like everybody'd know one another's names anyway.
What "Downtown" once signified really isn't true any more. And with online shopping and the retail industry, it likely never will be what it was again. At the end of the day, is convenience, saving money, and a larger selection of goods to choose from less important than preserving the downtown atmosphere?
I agree that mom and pop need to keep up if they're going to compete with Wal-Mart.
However, I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I can shop almost exclusively at mom and pop stores.
I just bought a really nice bottle of sake for my mother-in-law yesterday at a little place down the street from my house, and a huge stack of steaks from the butcher I often meet at the local watering hole.
However, I could've just as well bought the same thing at the big shopping plaza out on the edge of town.
The difference: the mom and pop place knows me and I know them and going there to buy something isn't just a shopping trip, it's a visit to see a friend. They know who I'm buying for and they gift wrap way better than the underpaid holiday staff at the MegaSpend.
It's laziness, complacency and an aversion to human contact that cause places like WalMart and ShopLand and SpendCity to thrive.
Downtown thrives where I am, but then again this ain't the States.
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