THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAR USE AND RETAIL LOCATION

The Relationship between Car Use and Retail Location

Table of Contents

Chapter 2: Literature Review3

Shopping travel in Great Britain -patterns and trends6

'Trolley shopping' - patterns and trends8

Chapter 3: Methodology13

Research Design13

Literature Search13

Keywords13

Theoretical Framework14

Reliability & Validity22

References24

Chapter 2: Literature Review

An important feature of retail change in many countries over the last 30 years or so has been the amount of development, often termed 'out-of-town', located away from established town and district centres. Surveys show that travel to such locations is predominantly made by private car. Environmental interests have long argued that this trend has exacerbated greenhouse gas emissions through the use of private cars for shopping trips. For example, Friends of the Earth claim with reference to the UK that 'the number of car-based shopping trips is growing rapidly as the supermarkets continue to develop giant out-of-town stores' (Bell, 2008, p45). It is not surprising therefore that government policy throughout Western Europe seeks to encourage a more sustainable pattern of travel for shopping and other routine purposes. Such policies usually have two components: first, restriction or even prohibition of new developments that would appear to depend upon access largely by private car; and second, promotion of a 'compact city' urban form in which many types of routine trip destination are easily accessible without the use of a car (Jenks et al., 1996, p62; Williams et al., 2000, p85). This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of such policies, by comparing their anticipated advantages with the reality of shopping travel, focusing on routine trips for food and other convenience goods. Empirical findings are drawn from the UK, as an example of a European country in which the planning policies mentioned above are clearly expressed, and in which a past history of less restrictive policy has led to a wealth of out-of-centre shopping destinations in many of its urban areas (Guy, 2007, p123).

In general, the UK Government's policy links the planning of future urban development with the aim of reducing total travel: Land use planning has a key role in delivering the Government's integrated transport strategy. By shaping the pattern of development and influencing the location, scale, density, design and mix of land uses, planning can help to reduce the need to travel, reduce the length of journeys and make it safer and easier for people to access jobs, shopping, leisure facilities and services by public transport, walking, and cycling. Consistent application of these planning policies will help to reduce some of the need for car journeys (by reducing the physical separation of key land uses) and enable people to make sustainable transport choices (DETR, 2001, p12). With specific regard to retail development: The Government is seeking to reduce the need to travel, to encourage the use of public transport, walking and cycling and reduce reliance on the private car, to facilitate multipurpose journeys and to ensure that everyone has access to a range of facilities. Good access to town centres is ...