Planning for Town Centre “Smart-Decline”/“Rightsizing”: A New Lens for Strategy Development and Research?

Abstract

Consistent with ideas of urban shrinkage, many town centres have experienced years of increasing vacancy due to the loss of brand name retailers, and a crisis has emerged as conditions have deteriorated. This paper makes conceptual and practical linkages to the related “smart-decline”/“rightsizing” literature to provide insights regarding the challenges of town centre shrinkage and the strategies and governance structures required to realise the opportunities arising. These conceptions/ideas are applied through case study analysis, with the findings suggesting that adopting “smart-decline”/“rightsizing” concepts/ideas provides an important new lens for future town centre research.