Of these uses, retailing and convention/exhibition facilities appear to be the most common focus of the waterfront development visited in Japan.
These uses were also the backbone of the original development at Darling Harbour; the general range of uses at Darling Harbour is now expanding significantly as it experiences a second wave of development.
I will now concentrate on issues relating to retail because it is an area which has been problematic for a number of waterfront developments and it is an area in which there are lessons to be learned.
The following lessons come from developments in Australia and the United States. They arc applicable to the Japan projects.
Retailing is important because
(｡)it often generates the highest visitation within the development. It is estimated that of 15 million visits to Darling Harbour per annum, there are 11 million visits to the Harbourside Shopping Centre, compared with 1.5 million to the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre and 1 million to the Sydney Aquarium;
(｢)retail is often seen as the anchor to the whole waterfront development because of visitation, turnover and visibility; and
(｣) retail often becomes the image of the development with visitors and locals identifying the overall development with the retail centre.
Major features of these retail developments are.
(｡)generally a major focus on food and beverage;
(｢)highly themed;
(｣)no defined geographical catchment area - major focus on tourist market (overseas, national and day trippers);
