Sustainability and Urban Reawakening: Some New Proposals for Controlling the Setting up of Major Commercial Entities

Abstract

This article analyses the impact of shopping malls from the perspective of sustainable development. The
social, environmental and urban effects of large-scale retail developments justify public intervention to the
end of correcting or at least minimising their negative impact. Retail planning in Spain has been based on
economic or market reasoning more than upon arguments as to the public weal such as the protecting of
the environment or the dictates of town and country planning sense. As a result of this, a stifling
interventionism has come into being which, though unable to palliate the consequences of shopping malls,
has yet hindered free competition by favouring established operators on the market and protecting them
against potential competitors. This article tries to outline a new sort of policy guidelines on Retail Planning
(some of them inspired by present British practice) these based upon «overriding reasons relating to the
public interest», such as the protection of both the natural environment and the urban environment as such.
In keeping with the new Directive on Services, these criteria or conditions set out by the Member States are
to ensure that the common weal may indeed justify the application of authorisation schemes and other
restrictions. However, access to a service activity in the territory of a Member State is not to become subject
to meeting any prior economic clean bill of health.