Despite the fact it is usual in Lithuania for shopping centres to settle in city centre or in the residential areas, architects criticise this tendency. According to them, uneven development of shopping centres creates traffic jams and other issues and Vilnius is a great example of such problems. However, they also observe that the situation is changing in the capital. Architects predict that in the near future it will become a common practice for Vilnius residents to have a comfortable journey for shopping in the outskirts of the city instead of hustling with each other in the centre’s traffic jams.
Chaotic development of shopping centres determined problems for Vilnius residents
“Shopping centre is basically a big warehouse. Its main function is to comfortably satisfy the needs of city residents without creating additional problems. That is why before an opening of any kind of centre various factors must be considered: whether it is easily accessible, whether there will be no additional difficulties for residents living in the surrounding areas, whether there is no excess of shopping centres in that territory”, says Nerijus Stanionis, an architect and director of company “Miesto planas”.
According to him, the emergence of shopping centres in city’s central areas may be positive on specific circumstances, as was the case with Kaunas’ “Akropolis”, but it is always important to maintain the balance. The shopping centres network has to expand gradually, several big shopping areas should not concentrate in one place. Yet in Lithuania the importance of this had not been taken into account for a long time. Businessmen were sure that it is most profitable to build a shopping centre near areas where most of the city’s residents live, while politicians did not take any action in order to regulate the expansion of shopping centres.
“Shopping centres emerged chaotically in the big cities. Without the existence of legislation to determine specific areas for shopping centres‘ development and without a shared vision of this development, businessmen chose the easiest and, from their point of view, the most equitable way: they established shopping centres in areas where most of the residents live in or next to the city‘s centre. This determined the situation where we have a big concentration of shopping centres in Northern Vilnius. Essentially it is a bad thing“, says Mr. Stanionis.
Architect Jurgita Liubartaite agrees with him and notes that lots of Vilnius central areas are misused – they lack separation between shopping centres and cultural areas.
“It is common in Western Europe that shopping centres establish themselves outside the city. Shoppers come to them by cars or public transport and spend most of the day there, while city’s centre is used for cultural events and leisure”, states Ms. Liubartaite.
According to Liubartaite, so far there was too little of such practices in Vilnius: big shopping centres with parking lots emerged in areas near the residential districts, where recreational spaces otherwise could have appeared. It created problems both for local residents, who had to put up with much larger movement and noise near their home, and for visitors of the shopping centres, who have to hustle with others in crowded buses or to spend their time waiting in traffic jams.
Changes in Southern Vilnius – prophets of a bright future?
However, architect predicts that tendencies will shift in the future: with the infrastructure getting better and the emergence of bypasses, big centres will start establishing themselves in the outskirts of the city. It will become easier to reach them and find a parking spot than in the shopping centres which are now in the city. As Ms. Liubartaite says, the signs of these changes could already be seen.
“The development of Southern Vilnius is a good example. A distinct area for shopping and satisfaction of the residents’ needs will appear here. This was encouraged by IKEA’s arrival in Lithuania. This shopping centre was the first to prove that settling relatively close to the city‘s centre but further away from residential districts is comfortable for visitors and increases the attractiveness of the shopping centre itself”, – says Ms. Liubartaite.
Architect forecasts a bright future for Southern Vilnius – according to her, after the opening of NØRDIKA shopping valley in September, the flow of clients here will increase even more. Clearly defined purpose of the area, attractive for businesses, in her opinion, creates opportunities for successful further development.
“Shopping centre in the outskirts of Vilnius is a relevant place not only for the city: it serves smaller surrounding cities and Vilnius region as well. Moreover, it becomes an object of international attraction. Finally, other businesses will follow. For a shopping centre located in a residential district, this is more difficult to achieve, because its customer flow is limited“, – notes Ms. Liubartaite.
Mr. Stanionis also forecasts that the geographical balance of shopping centres in Vilnius will shift. He says that it will be hard to open new centres after a few years, because the market will be full, and some centres established in less convenient locations will face problems. However, he notes that existing buildings currently housing shopping malls could be easily adjusted for new purposes if needed.
“Some shopping centres, which might have been opened without taking all of the circumstances into account, will likely close or change their activity profile. Meanwhile, more shopping centres will emerge in the outskirts of the city. It’s good for the city: residents will reach more evenly distributed shopping centres, there will be less traffic jams. We should not blame ourselves too much when comparing us to the West, because comfortable distribution of shopping centres that nowadays exists there took decades to form. Meanwhile, here in Lithuania they have just appeared. Situation will change in Lithuania as well”, – says Mr. Stanionis.
Hopes to change the habits of Vilnius residents
Barry Nibuurs, developer of shopping valley NØRDIKA which will emerge next to IKEA store highlights that in addition to the opportunity to attract residents of surrounding areas and cars passing through Vilnius, new place also gave a chance to offer its clients comfort common in Scandinavia.
“While constructing NØRDIKA we maintain our view that convenient and pleasurable shopping consists not only of walking through the shopping halls. It all starts from going to the shopping mall: we wish that the client would reach it in good mood, and this will be achieved only if he will travel there easily and nicely. That is why we chose a place far from big residential areas, where traffic jams do not appear and which can always be reached comfortably“, – states Mr. Nibuurs.
Search for bigger comfort, notes NØRDIKA representative, is the reason why spacier than usual parking lots, where pretty large vehicles could fit in will be set up near shopping valley. The inside of shopping centre will distinguish itself with unusual spaciousness as well.
“We will change the habits of Vilnius residents. We will seek to prove everyone that a journey to the shopping centre is not an unpleasant necessity; it can be a fun experience too. We are certain that the residents of Vilnius have already become mature enough for Western habits and most of them will understand that visiting the shopping centre near the city’s outskirts has many advantages”, – says Mr. Nibuurs.