PRIVATE SECTOR RETAIL DEVELOPMENTS PUBLIC SECTOR INFLUENCES Available to Purchase

A study is reported of West Edmonton Mall and Gateshead Metro Centre; the two shopping centres that are, respectively, the largest in the world and the largest in Europe. Examination of the background to the two developments reveals that public sector inputs to these“entrepreneurial” developments have been substantial. As with downtown revitalisation in the USA, the centres either gained substantial “enabling” funding from public sources, or carry with them the implication of infrastructural changes that must be publicly funded.