Maintaining town centre vitality in competitive environments: pedestrian movements, land-use and built-form in Armidale and Tamworth, NSW

Abstract

This article examines how the location of supermarkets and planned shopping centres (PSCs) interacts with other land-use and built-form factors to influence town centre vitality. Its particular focus is on pedestrian movements in two centres in regional NSW, Armidale and Tamworth. It draws on data derived from the tracking of 100 shoppers at-a-distance to examine the different movement patterns associated with trips originating from supermarket and PSC car parks, and trips originating from on-street car parks. The article concludes by relating findings to the growing tension between centres policy and competition policy in Australian retail planning.