Why shopping malls? 1/2

Heikintori in Tapiola was the first mall in Finland (photo taken in 1969, source)

 1/2

Have you ever rushed to find the “nighttime” passage to the metro late in the evening? Have you ever noticed that shopping malls tend to play certain type of music to attract certain type of people? Have you had the feeling of belonging in a shopping mall? 

Have you ever wondered why do we build shopping malls?

I find myself asking this question every time I visit one and that is way more often that I would like to. By shopping malls, I am referring to the big ones that are in the middle of city centrums like Redi, Iso Omena or Mall of Tripla. From my point of view shopping malls are hurting us more than helping. I think we should guide the development of city centrums to another way that has more well-being factors than problems.

In this first part of a two-parted text, I am going to focus on how placing city functions under a private roof is harmful for our social environment. 

 Cities are places with a great number of people and the beauty of that is that there is a variety of styles, opinions and groups. In addition, cities develop their own kind of personality with free communication and events organized by the people living there. The public plazas give a place for citizen activity. Would that be picnicking, electioneering or demonstrations. Public spaces can make a citizen feel like they belong.

Shopping malls are public space made private and that restricts the freedom of cities. For example, opening hours limit access to public transportation, which can hamper people’s everyday lives. Furthermore, the private owners are gatekeepers of concerts and other gatherings. Electioneering and demonstrations are in many cases forbidden. On top of that, the guards have the power to throw unwanted people “out”. These are the ways how shopping malls increase discrimination and limit the freedom of citizens.

On the other hand, shopping malls, of course, give space for people to meet and spend time together, which is very important to have. For shop owners, it is also easier to have someone coordinating the whole marketplace. However, couldn’t we implement these benefits also in another kind of system. People meet and spend time together anywhere that accommodates them, regardless if it being private or public. Marketplaces could be coordinated by a partly non-private operator so that the power for the cities to develop its own kind of personality is in the hands of its citizens. 


Read more on the subject:

Electioneering forbidden in malls: https://yle.fi/a/74-20020997 (in finnish)


Comments

  1. KVMay 21, 2023 at 6:47 AM

    Hi! As an architecture student (and a fellow human being) I also find this topic very important so it's nice that you brought this up. I felt your passion for this matter all throughout the post. I am on the same page as you about this but I also recognize the complexity of it.
    Your post was very well structured and easy to read. It also left me looking forward to part two :-) If I must say something to improve, it would be to add more pictures. Great post though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fragments of TimeMay 24, 2023 at 1:52 PM

    Hi! I completely agree with you. I often have conflicting feelings about this topic. In my opinion, this development aimed at huge building complexes where we spend our time is not good for us humans. On the other hand, in working life you may have to join a design team whose bread and butter comes from such massive projects. I believe that this is changing in the near future and human scale and well-being will make a comeback. I like the b & w photos in this post! I remember playing in that playground in Heikintori as a child.

    I would emphasize or bold some key words in this post and maybe dig deeper on the subject, because you have brilliant thoughts about it!

    ReplyDelete

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