Full Description
Original and insightful, this volume, giving in-depth consideration to the key issues affecting the future of market towns, provides readers with a framework for evaluating policy initiatives and progress in market towns.
Through a detailed analysis of the characteristics of over 200 towns and in-depth studies of eleven towns in different parts of England, the authors identify and explore a number of key roles for market towns. Such as:
retirement towns
commuter towns
employment centres
service centres
tourist towns.
Setting the results in the context of past and current policy, they consider in more detail some of the critical issues, including increased personal mobility, aging populations, housing growth and affordability, employment and retail competitiveness. Drawing on this detailed case study material, a final section explores the future role of market towns as sustainable communities and how they might best assure their futures.
Addressing issues which have not yet been covered in contemporary planning literature, this comprehensive volume provides a wide-ranging discussion that will appeal to those involved at all levels of practice related to market towns as well as to academics and students working in both rural and urban geography and planning.
Contents
Foreword 1 The challenges of understanding market towns Part 1 Characteristics, roles and policy 2 Market town characteristics 3 Exploring contemporary functional roles 4 Policies for market towns Part 2 Issues and challenges 5 Transport and mobility in the English market town 6 Ready or not: the ageing of the market towns' population 7 Market towns, housing and social inclusion 8 Capacity vs. need: exploring regional differences in housing provision in market towns 9 Market towns and rural employment 10 Visiting the shops: rural service centre or visitor attraction? Part 3 What prospects for market towns? 11 Drivers for change in the case study towns 12 Market towns: roles, challenges and prospects
