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Service industry and commerce marketing

The study groups' findings indicate a third and equally important common element which relates to the old town centres in the province of Vicenza: the need to give them new economic life. Every town centre has witnessed a progressive migration of service industries, though at different stages or in different numbers, newly-developed areas of a town outskirts then to large commercial centres. Retail and privately owned shops, craftsman's workshops have slowly disappeared from old town centres and from general trade alike.
The essence of the recommendations put forward by the study groups is simple: "Bring back service industries, commercial activities and craft workshops to the town centre". The reason is a basic one: an old town centre can have no life without them. This reveals a conscious appraisal of the usefulness and attraction that an old town centre must provide to the community, it is not a question of "going back to the past". So instead of making a museum out of an old town centre to attract mere art lovers, we need to create a place with characteristic features that could never be found in a mega-shopping park; these could be supplied by old fashioned shops and workshops of newly revived crafts, by famous old historic restaurants and new eating places, by cosy cafés and new bars strategically placed to attract people to forgotten corners.
The concerned economic sector is also moving in this direction and guilds and local government are now supporting revival projects for retail shops. However those projects are often directed to defending traders' and craftsmen's rights who see their activities threatened by large distributors.
The research study clearly points to the conservation and safekeeping of the old town centre socio-cultural elements as the aim of a new urban marketing for commerce and service industries. The "old town centre" must offer the opportunity for various sectors of the community to come together, for experiencing the quality of real life, for enhancing cultural life and leisure time: that is how young and old people alike see the future of their "old town centres".

Prepared by Annalisa and Adriana Lombardo.