Downtown or periphery? - Determinants of shopping centers site selection in Poland (The example of Silesian Voivodeship)

Downtown or periphery? - Determinants of shopping centers site selection in Poland (The example of Silesian Voivodeship) Abstract: Shopping centers have become an inseparable element of modern agglomerations and large cities in Poland. They derive from the tradition of former town marketplaces, around which trade was developed and the life of local community flew. Similarly to them, modern shopping centers are becoming important centres of social life, serving for commercial, entertainment, recreational, cultural, educational, integration as well as socialising purposes. Their comprehensive trade offer makes it possible to shop, cafés are a place for meeting friends, cinemas, discos, bowling alleys ensure entertainment, and playgrounds for children provide a response for the needs of the youngest visitors. In this way, they have become a place where entire families spend their free time. These are mostly shopping centers in downtown. Modern large-area shopping centres are usually established outside the city centre or in housing estates. These are usually shopping and service centres. Despite advantages of location in the city centre, most shopping centers in the world were built outside the city or in the suburbs: next to main roads or crossroads, on the outskirts of a city or between 2-3 cities or towns (in the case of agglomerations). From the economic point of view and from the perspective of spatial potential, a peripheral location is more beneficial for investors than a location in the city centre, but location in the city centre is more beneficial for consumers. The process of choosing a location of a shopping center includes the choice of a general location (region, town or city) and of a detailed location, i.e. of a specific place. The location of shopping centers is determined by a range of factors of quantitative and qualitative character. Among quantitative factors that influence the location, it is possible to mention the following: scale of demand for goods and services, structure of buyers and their distribution, purchasing power of the population, shopping practices and habits, regional diversification of prices of goods and services. In Poland, there are over 380 malls (2013), in Silesian Voivodeship there are over 56. Research conducted (2013) directly among residents and entrepreneurs made it possible to identify consequences of the location of shopping centres in the region ( downtown and periphery). Research was conducted among 600 residents and 200 entrepreneurs (through direct interviews) in selected cities in Silesia. Studies shows that consumers prefer downtown location and investors /entrepreneurs prefer periphery. The aim of the paper was to identify the best location of shopping centres in Silesian Voivodeship (for investors, consumers and city functioning ).