Urban entertainment center

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An Urban Entertainment Center ( UEC ) is a further development of the retail property type shopping center , which is expanded by thematically integrated leisure and entertainment offers.

Emergence

The development of the modern UEC is based on the crisis of the classic retail trade . Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s , the trend was towards shopping centers, where the consumer was offered numerous different shops under one roof. Classic design of shopping centers consist of a main walkway in the middle with an anchor tenant on each side. This shape is also called "dog bones". Shopping centers are usually closed buildings with numerous parking spaces. From an economic point of view, the anchor tenants attract customers, and the main rental income is generated through the smaller shops in between.

It has been difficult to assess the purchasing behavior of consumers since the 1990s. In place of the previous either-or between the on the rise discounters and more expensive brands , the so-called hybrid consumer emerged, which serves its needs in both segments on a case-by-case basis. In addition, retail sales stagnated both in absolute and relative terms (based on absolute purchasing power ).

The answer of the companies involved in the design of retail properties is the UEC. The core idea of ​​a UEC is an image determined by entertainment , i. H. Outwardly, entertainment is primarily promoted. The corresponding uses attract customers and put them in a relaxed mood. In place of the targeted purchase, there is an impulse purchase. From an economic point of view, the entertainment uses are not sustainable, as the rents that can be achieved are too low. The economically decisive component is therefore retail, supplemented by gastronomy . Since UEC ultimately evolved from shopping centers, the dividing lines are often blurred.

Function and composition

Stuttgart, SI Center

The decisive criterion for a UEC is the type of entertainment use. This often includes a multiplex cinema , a musical , a casino or bowling , but sometimes also very individual components. A categorization is therefore only possible to a limited extent. Retail and gastronomy are grouped thematically and locally around a central theme. Ideally, the boundaries are so blurred that the visitor can no longer perceive them. As a rule, UEC have no windows or other external references, so that visitors are taken away from everyday life and their willingness to consume increases. Therefore one looks in vain for watches in UEC.

There are no fixed rules for the relationship between the areas. However, it is assumed that the uses for entertainment purposes take up at least one third to one half of the total area. As soon as the proportion of entertainment facilities becomes too low (which seems economically tempting, since these properties generate comparatively low rents), the character changes to the disadvantage of entertainment, which is why the property no longer functions as a UEC. The usable area of ​​a UEC is usually at least 20,000–30,000 m². While the UEC is a simple and flexibly usable shell from a structural point of view, the design and details have essential atmospheric importance. The technical building equipment is usually very complex.

There are hardly any fixed rules regarding the location. In the city center, problems with arrival and departure can arise. Most of the time, the periphery of cities comes into question, isolated locations outside of metropolitan areas are less common, as the catchment area is then too small.

The question of whether the word “urban” in the name UEC is appropriate at all is controversial. Since these centers are seldom located in the city center, they are not integrated into urbanity. One can rather assume that urbanity is artificially created. The background to this is the emergence of the UEC concept in the USA, where in many places the inner cities have few urban characteristics ( urban sprawl , suburbanization ). This is USA-specific insofar as the mixing of shopping, leisure and entertainment offers in a small area has always been a characteristic of European inner cities in particular. Entire building complexes have also been dedicated to this mixed use in the past; A well-known example is the Parisian Palais Royal , which was a popular meeting place for the population in the 18th century with its shops, restaurants, amusement arcades and theaters. Therefore, the need for “artificially generated urbanity” in Europe is lower than in the USA, which is one of the reasons that this form of center is being established rather hesitantly in Europe or through the gradual metamorphosis of classic shopping centers.

Under no circumstances should UEC be confused with Factory Outlet Centers (FOC), which have a completely different focus.

In terms of economic geography , UEC are a special form of a cluster because retailers, restaurants and leisure businesses, cultural institutions and other service providers form a community of locations, a network and a value chain in the interest of exploiting synergies .

Examples

Canada

United States

  • Mall of America , Minneapolis : Very large mall with UEC elements
  • Forum Mall , Las Vegas : UEC connected to a casino, very clever combination of thematic and entertainment components with retail, also very interesting structurally (very freely modeled on Roman elements, with an artificial sky)

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

  • Sihlcity , Zurich : shopping and adventure center with restaurants, bars, cafés, a cinema with nine halls, hotel, fitness and wellness center, church, cultural center, library, offices and apartments.
  • Westside , Bern : Shopping and adventure center with restaurants, bars, cafés, cinema, fitness and wellness center

United Arab Emirates

  • DubaiLand , Dubai : currently under construction, when it opens (planned before 2020) will likely be the largest urban entertainment center in the world

Web links

literature

  • Andrea Helmer-Denzel: Global Play in the Ruhr Area: the creation of supplementary retail services using the example of an urban entertainment center and city centers . Inaugural dissertation to obtain the academic degree of Doctor of Social Science from the Ruhr University Bochum - Faculty for Social Science, Bochum 2002. Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-86537-154-X ( ssoar.info [accessed March 31, 2020]) .
  • Oliver Blank: Development of the retail trade in Germany: The contribution of area marketing to the realization of retail-related goals of spatial planning policy . Zugl .: Bamberg, Univ., Diss., 2004 udT: Blank, Oliver: From traditional to marketing-integrated retail-related spatial planning policy: the development of retail as a goal and challenge (=  Gabler Edition Wissenschaft ). German Univ.-Verl., Wiesbaden 2004 ( uni-bamberg.de [accessed on March 31, 2020]).
  • Michael D. Beyard, Ray Braun, Herb McLaughlin, Patrick Philips, Michael Rubin: Developing Urban Entertainment Centers . Urban Land Inst, 1998, ISBN 978-0-87420-824-5 (English).
  • Doerthe Gosewehr, Florian van Riesenbeck: Evaluation of Urban Entertainment Centers . In: S. Bienert (Hrsg.): Evaluation of special properties . Gabler Verlag, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 978-3-663-01571-0 , p. 249-282 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andrea Helmer-Denzel: Global Play in the Ruhr Area: the creation of supplementary retail services using the example of an urban entertainment center and inner cities . Inaugural dissertation to obtain the academic degree of Doctor of Social Science from the Ruhr University Bochum - Faculty for Social Science, Bochum 2002. Cuvillier Verlag, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-86537-154-X , p. 48 f . ( ssoar.info [accessed March 31, 2020]).
  2. ↑ Andrea Helmer-Denzel: Global Play in the Ruhr Area: the creation of supplementary retail services using the example of an urban entertainment center and inner cities . S. 160 f .
  3. ↑ a b c Rosemarie Noack: Urban entertainment centers are emerging in German cities - a mixture of amusement and commerce . In: The time . No. March 11 , 1998 ( zeit.de [accessed March 31, 2020]).