ABSTRACT
The Decline of the Town Centre Our perception of a town is frequently based upon some image of its centre. Ever since settled agriculture began some ten thousand or more years ago, towns have been organised around focal points such as markets or centres of religious and political power. Economic necessity and the need to centralise control have been major forces in the development of town centres throughout history, and only during the past fifty years have these forces begun to change and weaken as the predominant mode of existence has become urban and the economy has become global. Since the world began to industrialise in the mid-eighteenth century, town centres have become focal points for capital investment of many kinds reflecting the diversification of the economy. This intensification of activity has been accompanied by rapid population growth through suburbanisation, and increasing amounts of transportation infrastructure and movement have come to symbolise the function of such centres. In short, the image of the city as being monocentric was reinforced during the industrial era, notwithstanding the fact that large metropolitan areas have been formed as centres and cities have coalesced.
