Principles and Criteria for Classifying Commercial Centers in Cities (An Applied Study on Erbil City)

Abstract

  Commercial centers are the modern image of the traditional market, which has become one of the most prominent landmarks of the city that encourages commercial exchange, marketing and shopping. The markets have been known since ancient times and the market has evolved through the stages of development of the city and took different geographical and specialized forms until it reached its contemporary image such as large commercial centers, commercial complexes (malls), supermarket chains and others. The research aims to classify Erbil commercial centers into categories according to the principles and standards, taking into account the specific conditions for them, and standardize it, then provide solutions and recommendations to create a more suitable and more balanced standardization for commercial services.

     The descriptive and analytical approach has been relied on in the research and the research includes three main axes besides the introduction, where the first axis began with the theoretical framework of the study by identifying the basic concepts of the study terminology and the geographical characteristics of the city of Erbil.

    The second axis was devoted to the classification and calibration of commercial centers by presenting the international classifications of commercial centers and then determining the appropriate classification of commercial centers in the city of Erbil as a proposed classification. Finally, the research concluded with a set of conclusions and recommendations.