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The town centre is the term used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and mainland Europe to refer to the commercial or geographical centre of a town. In some areas of Canada—particularly large, urban areas—town centres refer to alternate commercial areas to the city's downtown. These centres are usually located within a large neighbourhood and characterized by medium-high density commercial and residential property.

The town centre historically was the main/ busiest thoroughfare or "High Street" of a settlement where commercial activities took place such as markets.

Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations. Public buildings including town halls, museums and libraries are often found in town centres.

Town centres are symbolic to settlements as a whole and often contain the best examples of architecture, main landmark buildings, statues and public spaces associated with a place.

The first example in the UK of a purposely planned Commercial/ Town Centre is Newcastle's Grainger Town in the 1840's [1].

As changes in shopping patterns have occurred town centres have been forced to adapt and meet those changes. Comprehensive redevelopment of many British town centres occurred in the 1960s and 1970s. This often resulted in development of larger store formats, often with modernist styles of architecture which significantly differed to their surroundings.

Other major changes included the development of indoor shopping malls in major towns and cities. Examples include the Arndale Centre in Manchester, the St. James Centre in Edinburgh and the Bullring Centre in Birmingham. These tended to be constructed in a Brutalist or Modernist fashion reflecting the architectural styles of the period.

During the Thatcher Government of the 1980s a change in planning policy allowed competing out of town shopping and leisure centres to be developed. Examples include the Metro Centre in Gateshead and the Gyle Centre in Edinburgh. Developments of this type have, in a number of places, resulted in a decline in traditional town centres.

Today there is a focus on the redevelopment of town centres and the creation of a greater mix of uses in the centres. Planning policy focus aims to maintain town centres as vibrant successful places, which are accessible to everyone by means other than the private car.2 3

Many town centres have undergone major redevelopment, with environmental improvements and increased retail floorspace. Major town centre shopping malls, such as Manchester's Arndale Centre and Birmingham's Bullring Centre have also undergone major redevelopment to improve their image.

• Ayris, I (1997) A City of Palaces [1]
• Cowling, D (1997) An Essay for Today- The Making of the Scottish New Towns 1946-1996
• Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) PPS6- Planning for Town Centres
• Scottish Executive (2006) SPP8- Town Centres & Retailing

• UK shopping malls
• Shopping mall
• Downtown (Similar to 'town centre', but can be used in cities and/or towns.)
• CBD
• Principles of Intelligent Urbanism