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Written By sourav894 - 16 October, 2010
Bangalore Congestion Analysis Economy Others Malls
One fine day, my teacher and I were discussing the mushrooming malls in the city of Bangalore. Here is an extract of the conversation-
"What makes people rush to these malls? Why do they undergo so much trouble only to purchase those items which are anyway available in their neighbourhood stores? – these are wrong questions to ask in today’s times."
These days the progress and development of the cities are miscalculated as the number of malls sprouting up in every locality. The prices of the real estate are determined by its distance from the nearest mall. As byproduct, there are traffic jams! There are hours of load sheddings in the neighborhood while the malls remain bright and cold with lights and air conditioners! And there are long lines of water at nearby chawl while the mall floors and glasses are washed everyday!
In an experiment conducted recently, I calculated the ratio of people carrying shopper bags in these malls, to the people who have not purchased anything. I stood at the top floor smiling at my observation! Most people visit malls just for the sake of it. Except for the discount sells and festival seasons, these malls are deprived of ‘buyers’ due to exorbitant prices, even though they appear crowded. The food courts are less crowded than the neighborhood restaurants serving idli-vada. The failure of these malls to do business is more and more obvious these days. They either fail to kick-start or to withstand the pressures exerted by the new players!
COMMENTS
Naveen - 17 October, 2010 - 12:14
"When shopping malls become meeting places instead of parks & gardens, it is a symptom that the city is ill"
I think Indian cities are all ill ! Quite true that the price of real estate is jacked up because of a mall nearby, & people crave for malls close to their homes.
Nobody is buying/selling/spreading/forcing
Naveen - 18 October, 2010 - 07:41
I don't think anybody is buying, selling, spreading or forcing anything on anyone here. Whilst you might not know anybody that takes pride in such things, surely there are many out there, else the real estate firms wouldn't be quoting mall distances on their ads.
Naveen - 18 October, 2010 - 06:20
This was a quote that I had read on GTZ (http://sutp.org/).
As I understand, the quote is to illustrate that when people's perception of quality of life is skewed excessively in favour of how frequently one visits or shops in malls as opposed to meeting people or taking walks /jogging in open spaces such as parks /gardens, it suggests that the city's priorities are out of sync with environment /sustainable living.
This is very true in India & Bangalore since most builders advertise about nearby malls from their projects. Also, people tend to take pride in meeting others at Forum mall or Garuda mall rather than meeting at "non-trendy" spaces such as Lalbagh or Cubbon park.
silkboard - 18 October, 2010 - 05:22
Hope the exaggeration is only artistic. Malls have NOT BECOME the meeting places. There is a big demand for recreation around the city, which is going unfulfilled.
- If the malls become meeting points, and not shopping points, they will die with time, problem will take care of itself.
- What is wrong in malls becoming a meeting point? If you are expecting all teenagers to dance and prance around around trees in the parks, best of luck in working on their preferences.
- Like it or not, what people want is what happens. If the malls are indeed popular (which I DO NOT believe to be the case), read it as lack of options for quality shopping experience (can't park, can't walk, can't get a bill, can't return). So fix that, instead of working against what people want.
silkboard - 18 October, 2010 - 07:28
Naveen, by saying that:
people tend to take pride in meeting others at Forum mall or Garuda mall rather than meeting at "non-trendy" spaces such as Lalbagh or Cubbon park.
You are only buying into all the advertizing and advertorials. That statement isn't true, do not buy into or spread commercialized definitions of "trendy". Nobody that I know sees any "pride" in these things.
By forcing such "perceptions" of people on the people, nobody will win converts for sustainable living concepts. Its a classic mistake all activists make - push an exaggerated sense of guilt to sell their thoughts. Such approach puts people on backfoot, doesn't win anyone anything. Selling "guilt" is an old school and western approach to get some charitable notes out of very thick wallets. Here in our city/country, don't need notes, need hands. And to get hands, you need to engage, not put people on defensive.
Like in the original post above:
The food courts are less crowded than the neighborhood restaurants serving idli-vada.
What exactly does that mean? That line tells me that the author only goes to the food courts, and not to Adiga's or Sagar's (as in good Darshini's) on early weekday or late weeked mornings.
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