Retail floorspace: Assessing the need for shops

A great deal of effort is devoted in planning exercises to balance the amount of new shopping floor space which can be permitted in one centre rather than another. David Thorpe suggests that the margin of error involved, because of the difficulties associated with forecasting total potential, may well be considerably greater than the “fine balancing” that occurs. This paper was originally presented at a PTRC Seminar in July 1975 at the University of Warwick.