LONDON' S MARKETS THEIR GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS AND FUNCTIONS

Abstract

In view of it 's dominant role in the government' cultural and commercial spheres of the country's geography, many studies of London are concerned with an examination of the city on a national level. The nature of the conurbation itself is inherently interesting and this thesis concentrates on the geography of distributive outlets within the city. Within the present city or London I have identified various genres of distributive outlets varying in sophistication from the simplest periodic street market to the most complex shopping centre. In examining the nature of these service centres an historical link was established between them and a continuum of development suggested. described as sequential development. Each strand of the continuum is a natural phenomenon which has developed in response to the social and economic conditions of a particular period. In most spheres or life when a more advanced organism evolves its more primitive counterparts gradually disappear. In the context of London's distributive system this is only partly the case for residual elements exist today from many stages of development. In a detailed examination of each stage of the process, with reference to selected case studies I haft suggested social and economic reasons for their survival. My studies also indicated that the system was far from being static and that developments at the advanced retail levels stemming from the demands of twentieth century living, were causing tremors of change throughout the continuum. Some of these are already apparent with the plans tor removal of the central wholesale markets to larger less congested sites, and the building of squares to hold markets forced off the streets by increased pressure of traffic . From an examination of the existing situation and present plans a projection was made of the future pattern of London' s distributive system.