The hustle
and bustle of a city life, its streets, the shopping arenas and the food is
what defines the soul of the city. These are at the core of any city that you
visit across the globe. You will often hear people visiting cities to explore
its street life and not to explore the malls.
While there
is an increase in the number of malls in the city there is also a growing
phenomenon of malls shutting shop. Wonder why is this happening? The mall
culture has its perks but has led to entrapping people in an enclosure. The
soul of the city is lost,-shopping and entertainment should be more social in
nature and play a vital role in weaving the fabric of the city.
What a city
needs is a high-street shopping experience and not a shopping mall. A place
they can call their own, a place that defines the story of the city, a place
where people can just hang out and unwind, this needs to happen on the streets where
it enlivens city life.. A visit to any vibrant and successful city is a
testimony to the fact that high streets are an integral part of their lives and
that it adds characterto the city.
Malls shooting up hastily and being shut shop sooner or later, vividly testifies that thick footfalls in malls is trivial to its commercial sustenance, because most of the people who walks in are not shoppers. Do promoters commence on such projects based on mere demographics or do they really care to look for the socio cultural fabric of the city or town which maybe subtle. In India, the influx of domestic immigrants for financial betterment gives rise to a floating populace in major cities, which tends to alter the social facade to a great extent. Hence all these multiple factors must be weighed while shaping up malls. Laudable is the initiative of House of Hiranandani for considering these.
ReplyDeleteA city or town is certainly formed by the infrastructure and other tangible public support systems, but indeed composed by the people who reside there and use these.
Allister Robert