Urban design and the adaptation of marketplaces : towards a grounded theory

• Main Author: Chen, Yun-Ju
• Published: Oxford Brookes University 2011
• Subjects: 307.1416
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.579511

The adaptation of marketplaces is a phenomenon of urban change across the world. As many marketplaces are struggling to remain vital and viable in historic urban centres, an innovative approach to help such public spaces adapt to change is crucial to sustain them within a robust urban structure. This thesis argues that appropriate adjustments of the spatial elements through urban design towards rebuilding a robust urban structure may contribute to the successful adaptation <?f marketplaces in a contemporary urban centre. The thesis adopts a grounded theory approach as methodological guidance to build a theory from case studies on the role of urban design in the adaptation of marketplaces in the context of contemporary city centres in England, in the UK. Three strands of discourses are generated from the review of existing theories, suggesting how the historic, commercial and social dimensions of marketplaces may be adapted in a contemporary city centre, and the potential aspects of urban design intervention in the contexts of developmental stress. The redesigning of three marketplaces in Oxford city centre, one marketplace in Birmingham city centre, and two marketplaces in Manchester city centre are selected as empirical case studies to examine the role of urban design in recent practices. The empirical evidence indicates that urban design has helped marketplaces adapt to change in the contexts of developmental stress by: (1) facilitating strategic developments for the regeneration of retail cores and the renaissance of city quarters (2) enhancing the diversity of commercial centres and the distinctiveness of city quarters and (3) integrating retail cores and the surrounding quarters by improving the integrity of the public spaces. The research findings contribute to the construction of a unified framework suggesting key adaptive attributes of a robust urban structure resulting from the successful adaptation of marketplaces in a contemporary city centre.