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Article Excerpt
Abstract: Since the mid-1990s, the growing importance of sustainability has stimulated the development of a number of tools using sustainability indicators (SIs). SIs aim to track progress and thus lead to active choices and changes related to the built environment. Regional shopping centres in the UK consist of a complex amalgam of energy consumption, existing buildings and transport systems. No systems at present address the issue of sustainability for regional shopping centres, taking into consideration their whole life span. This paper defines the potential problem of complexity and subjectivity in selecting effective SIs. Such complexity occurs when stakeholders try to determine the most appropriate indicators for such projects. The paper presents a review of sustainability issues related to these centres and a pilot-study investigating the problems of complexity and subjectivity. The study is based upon a survey of selected stakeholders on their perceptions and values of selected SIs. It is concluded that the selection process is largely dependent on who is carrying out the evaluation, and thus results in a subjective context. Finally, the paper raises questions for future research into the complexity of selecting manageable and measurable sustainability indicators for regional shopping centres.
Keywords: Regional shopping centres, Sustainability indicators, Sustainable development, Time and spatial scales
Introduction
The UK has witnessed a rapid increase in the development of out-of-town retail centres, particularly in the early 1990s. The concentration of new retail centres in out-of-town locations (usually occupying greenfield sites) and away from city centre locations has been facilitated by the increase in private car ownership and the ease of access and parking that such peripheral locations offer. The recent history of out-of-town shopping developments can be explained according to two main categories of goods (McGoldrick, 1992, p. 15; Schiller, 1987; cited in). These are bulky goods, goods of a large physical nature that sometimes require large areas for storage or display, and comparison-shopping, the provision of items not obtained on a frequent basis. These include clothing, footwear, household and recreational goods). The first category is related to goods such as DIY carpets, furniture, larger electrical items and garden centre products, catering mainly for car-borne customers. These centres are often easier to reach owing to their out-of-town sites, abundance of free parking and proximity to major roads. Usually, out-of-town centres contain over 50,000 square metres gross retail area (BCSC, 2007). In contrast, the second category occupies a larger area that involves clothing, leisure activity, food courts, cinemas and other comparison activities. These centres might be termed regional shopping centres by virtue of their size, the large catchment populations, and the provision of large anchor stores to attract customers. In this context, we define a regional retail centre as "an enclosed, free-standing shopping centre of at least 200,000 sq ft [18,580 sq metres] gross retail area, built away from existing (unplanned) town or city centre retail areas" (Guy, 1994, p. 169).
Regional shopping centres have been a source of debate in the UK over the last 20 years. This debate has been influenced by the significant concern surrounding the massive usage of resources, emissions and socio-economic conflicts (most notably the decline of existing town centres) arising from their uncontrolled growth. For instance, new congestion points are created by the introduction of car-borne shoppers and the centre itself and its road system absorb rural open land. The rapid development of regional shopping centres over the last decades has led to greater developments around them (normally recognised as uncontrolled growth). After a decade of explosive growth in the number of regional shopping centres, many provincial town centres have been left dilapidated and empty (AlWaer & Sibley, 2006). Consequently, the government has shifted its policy towards restricting the development of "regional shopping centres", and, at the same time, encouraged more inner-city retail developments. These twin aims have been pursued by modifying the guidance to planning authorities on the assessment of applications for planning approval (Planning Policy Guidance Notes PPG6 and PPG 13 in 1996, part L PPS2 and PP26; BCSC, 2007; Ruston, 1999). Though these actions have been considered in order to curb car use and maintain the vitality and viability of existing town centres, a further consequence is likely to be an increased need for the assessment of the environmental performance and impact of shopping centres. A broader sustainability agenda, i.e., one not simply limited to sustainability issues of individual buildings (e.g., energy usage), is likely to be a key influence on the strategies for retail development in the UK with regard to, for example, location, transportation modes, and size .
Addressing the inter-relationship between regional shopping centres and sustainability is not only limited to the consideration of the buildings but also the problems of the inter-relationship between the regional shopping centre as a complex system and its surrounding area as it tends to reinforce urban sprawl, pollution and risk "unsustainability". A wide range of concerns associated with existing shopping centres can be considered with the aim of identifying effective sustainability indicators based on a triple bottom line (TBL) model. The TBL approach is adapted in this paper as a framework for measuring and reporting corporate performance against economic, social and environmental parameters for regional shopping centres in the UK. The selection of indicators has become one of the main challenges for decision makers, designers and planners with reference to regional shopping centres (an area that up to now has received little attention). Developing high-quality indicators is an enormous challenge, and there is no easy or correct way to do so. It requires the adoption of a suitable framework, which enables decision makers (designers, planners, local authorities) to understand the problems implied in a decision and providing evidence for government policy. In this paper, the identified effective sustainability indicators are not only valid for the UK, but for current and future retail developments in Europe, the USA and throughout the world. However, how many indicators are needed? Which ones are relevant? How can they be selected? These are all questions that are being addressed in this paper.
Aims of the Study
Since the field of sustainability indicators is vast, the aim of this study is to clarify that field by undertaking the following specific objectives:
1. Evaluate the trends in the development of regional shopping centres in the UK during the last three decades (historical and contemporary issues).
2. Identify key issues related to regional shopping centres (environmental, social and economic factors) based on the triple bottom line model.
3. Based on previous models, such as BREEAM, DQI, LEED, CASBEE, SBC, develop an adapted model for the selection of effective sustainability indicators specific to regional shopping centres.
4. Evaluate the perceptions and priorities of various stakeholders (architects, engineers, environmental assessors) for different sustainability indicators using one case study in the UK.
The paper discusses some of the difficulties the proposed analytical frame would face in practice.
Research Methodology
An evaluation (based on a literature review) of the development of regional shopping centres in the UK during the last decades is carried out in order to identify key environmental, social and economic sustainability factors. Detailed interviews and questionnaires have been conducted with a number of regional shopping centres supply and demand side stakeholders including designers, engineers, and sustainability assessors with extensive knowledge and experience of shopping centres issues in the UK. According to Waterman and Bourke (2004), a demand-side stakeholder may have a problem or an issue with a project, but does not have an influence on the project. A supply side stakeholder or an assessor will have some specialist knowledge, but together the views of supply- demand sides provide a reflection of the selection attributes and their relative importance. The formal judgment using explicit and implicit knowledge of a stakeholder involves a subjective assessment, feeling or impression of the quality or estimation of quantity of something of interest that seems true, valid or probable in the expert's own mind.
It is important to study the opinions of stakeholders from different fields and set these as content for a common platform of performance needs. This was essential in order to clarify any areas of uncertainty and to allow those responsible for the facility to offer additional information. The questionnaires began with a general introduction to the research. This introduction was made accessible to decision makers in each of the selected centres. It described the ultimate goals of the survey and asked participants to fill out the questionnaires from their own perspective and experience.
The selected stakeholders were invited to review the relevance, coherence and clarity of approximately 115 individual subindicators and indicators. The selected indicators were derived from reformulated sustainability assessment methods used within the UK, supplemented with sustainability indicators used in assessment tools in other countries. Based on their influence on the whole life cycles of shopping centres, stakeholders were invited to answer the following questions. How would you rate the sustainability indicators in the attached table according to these four categories:
* Required,
* Desired,
* Inspired and
* Non applicable?
For example, is the environment and renewable energy more important than say, comfort and indoor environment quality or water consumption and if it is, then how important are these? This question cannot be resolved in abstract because of the nature of sustainability and the design process, but attempts are...
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