Over the last twenty years, the socio-economic conditions of life and economy in Poland have changed, the role of trade has increased which is reflected in the form and content of the urban spaces of consumption. The aim of this study is to characterize the changes that have occurred in Poland after year 1989. Four major processes, that have shaped today's urban spaces of consumption, can be mentioned. These are: 1. changes of the structure of the retail trade, the development of shopping streets, as well as the expansion and subsequent consolidation of foreign retail chains, 2 The expansion and transformation of shopping malls, 3. processes of regeneration and transformation of Polish cities, 4. Appearance of urban movements, that often contest the investments in a city, movements that demand the right of to co-decide about the activities and changes in the city. Spaces of consumption can be defined as social spaces giving the opportunity to rest and spend free time with friends such as cafes, pastry shops, pubs, but also retail and entertainment spaces such as shopping streets and shopping malls.
Changes mentioned above have influenced life of the central areas of the city, main shopping streets and markets. Small shops often are unable to compete with big shopping malls and supermarkets. As a result, some of them decide to open their premises in the newly established shopping malls, some of them quit activity. Their place on the main shopping streets of the city are occupied by banks, offices or global networks of mobile phones. For this reason, shopping malls are often accused of focusing social life and at the same time depopulating streets and downtown .
This changes directly affect the life of the urban community, often are the cause of the protests of people dissatisfied with shopping malls built near their place of residence. For several years now the researchers in Poland ask about the impact of shopping malls on the condition of Polish trade, protests of traders against building more large retail stores in city centers are also frequent.
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16.11.2013.
REDETE 2014 - Researching Economic Development and Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies
