The Shanghai Model for Activity Centres and its Potential in the Australian Context

Abstract

Increasing competition within the Australian retail sector is vital to its continued growth and was a key focus of the Productivity Commission’s 2011 report into the economic structure and performance of the Australian retail industry (Productivity Commission, 2011). However, corporate shopping malls, which are increasingly dominating the Australian retail sector, are often protected from competition by planning and zoning regulations designed to promote centre vitality and viability and contain unrestrained urban sprawl. The Productivity Commission has recommended relaxing or removing what it regards as overly prescriptive and restrictive planning and zoning regulation to stimulate increased competition within the retail sector and achieve better outcomes for consumers. While this recommendation is understandable given the role that current regulation plays in restricting competition and embedding local monopolies, could it be overlooking the potential of intelligent regulatory settings to stimulate greater competition within the retail sector than could be achieved if the free market was left to its own devices? Municipal Commercial Centres such as Wujiaochang in Shanghai, where multiple competing shopping malls have been developed and now operate within the one centre, demonstrate the positive role that regulation can play in promoting greater competition within a city’s retail sector. This research project’s methodology employed a critical theory research paradigm, a semi-structured interview, multiple site visits and the collection of quantitative retail data to compare planning and consumer outcomes between Garden City in Brisbane and Wujiaochang in Shanghai.