Skip to main content

Behind changing windows: understanding shop changes in Miðborg

1 General presentation of the project

1.1 Aim of the project

The main aim of this project is to provide a spatial analysis of the retail change in Miðborg through the production of an interactive map of the shops in Miðborg. The main source of inspiration for the project is the interactive map produced by the Parisian planning agency (APUR).

1.2 Context

The retailscape of Miðborg has undergone a dramatic change over the past years. Before 2020, tourism has driven some major shop changes. Some very well-established shops, such as the grocery Visir, have been turned into tourist shops. Other well-known shops have moved out to suburban premises, while new restaurants, cafés, souvenir shops or chain stores have kept opening on the main shopping streets of the centre for several years. From 2020, the Covid-19 crisis has brought about another wave of changes, with the closing of tourist shops and the opening of new stores more focused on sustainability.

In 2015, 2019 and 2020, Rannsóknasetur verslunarinnar has carried out a series of shop inventories allowing to monitor shop changes in Miðborg. These database has provided a statistical overview that have allowed to grasp the extent of shop changes in terms of shop categories within the entire neighbourhood or within specific streets (what categories have increased or decreased).

This project complements this statistical overview of shop changes in Miðborg by providing a spatial analysis of those changes. It combines data provided by RSV and a refined shop classification in order to map these data in a GIS. The outcome of this project provides three series of maps that are implemented into an online app:

  • A first series show the location of the three main categories of shops (‘Meginflokkur’) distinguished by the RSV database (Shops/Verslun; Catering/Veitingar; Other services/Önnur þjónusta) in 2015, 2019 and June 2020
  • A second series show the location of each subcategory of shop (‘Undirflokkur’) distinguished by the RSV database and extended by the new shop classification. It is possible to draw a customized map showing the location of each of the 55 sub-categories of shops in 2015, 2019 and June 2020 in order to track the evolving geography of each type of shop.
  • A third series provide some further analyses of the composition of the retailscape on the different streets covered by the survey in 2015, 2019 and June 2020. It allows to see what street has lost or gained shops and to measure the evolution of shop diversity along those streets.

1.3 Deliverable

This project has produced three deliverable: