Why do Services Cluster Downtown?

12.4

Central Business District (CBD)

•usually one of the oldest areas of the

city where retail and office activities

agglomerate (only 1% of space)

•Consumer and business services

are attracted to the CBD because of its

accessibility.

•Many retail offices tend to locate on the street-level floors of skyscrapers in larger

cities.

Downtown Toronto

100% corner

• Intersection in CBD with clustered department stores

• High rent

• Most accessibility for the most customers

Retail Services in the CBD3 types of retail services cluster

in the CBD:•services with high thresholds

•services with high ranges•services that serve downtown workers

Large dept stores with high

thresholds are most likely to be found in

suburban malls today.

Faneuil Market in Boston has been

updated & preserved allowing it to draw

customers from long distances (high

ranges).

Many downtown services focus on

serving the people who work

there.

Producer Services•Many producer service cluster downtown

because many professionals (lawyers, engineers, architects) still want face to face

contact with clients.Downtown DeLand

High Land Cost in the CBD

•As a result of high land costs, many American

CBDs are characterized by vertical development

above the ground. (skyscrapers)

•Land values in the CBD are high primarily because there is competition for limited space… especially in cities like Tokyo

Tokyo, Japan Atlanta, Ga.

Intensive Land Use•Many large cities also use vertical space

below the ground!

Subway station on the Washington Metro

Cities like Toronto have built underground

pedestrian walkways and shops beneath the

downtown area. Underground parking

EXCEPT WASHINGTON, D.C.

• No building can be bigger than the Capitol Dome

Decline in Manufacturing•Industrial land use is typically EXCLUDED from North American CBDs because

modern industries

require large parcels of land

to spread operations among one-

story buildings.

Lack of Residents

Public transportation makes sense in

CBDs because each traveler takes up

less space!

Public transportation near Boston University

Urban areas are characterized by a

high degree of commuting, since

few people actually live in the CBD.

Los Angles highway at rush hour

European CBDs

• Restrict Height on buildings

• Attempt to preserve heritage/history– Warsaw, Poland– Paris, France

• Tour Montparnasse

Suburbanization of

Business•Many businesses have left the CBD

for peripheral locations at the edge of large

metropolitan areas.

•Ex. Malls

•“Edge” cities have been developed especially along the beltways of large U.S. cities.