The demise of our shopping areas.

In a conversation with a colleague the other day I touched upon something that is giving my brain a bit of exercise.My concern is to do with what happens to our High Street and shopping areas if this trend of shop closures continue and why do we expect that these areas are or have to stay the same especially considering all the issues surrounding the problems of retailing these days with the emphasis on 'on line' shopping. When you think about it most of the shops in our older High Streets were converted to retail from housing stock and their upstairs converted to offices. In fact I can remember a time when to get a above the shop areas converted to office use was a recipe for increasing rent returns by a considerable amount. Is it time to call a day on our twentieth century view of our high streets and look at the possibility of turning the unoccupied units and that space above back into domestic accommodation? This would certainly help in respect the of affordable home argument and free up loads of space and bring a bit of life back to our town centres.It would also free up the need to have massive amounts of traffic passing through what should be pedestrian areas and cut down the heavy transport delivery type vehicles which are the bain of small town and village life.Any contribution to the debate would be very welcome.