Town centre

The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.

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.

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.[1]

The town mall historically consisted of a principal thoroughfare usually known as High Street or Main Street in Ireland (Main Street America being a loosely similar equivalent to town centre in the US) or a town square or triangle of a settlement where commercial activities took place such as markets.

In the mid-1990s, the entry of many, mostly British, multiples into the Republic of Ireland because of its rising economy and the shared language and similar currencies led to sensitivities expressed in the media (like The Irish Times) that Irish Main Streets in cities and town centres would lose their character and, worse (from the history as a small nation beside a large, previously dominant, neighbour), would become indiscernible from English ('boring') regional town/city 'high streets'.

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