The Shopping Center
analytical Essay
1127 words
The Shopping Center
In the prologue to the book, Shopping Town USA, the authors, Victor Gruen and Larry Smith, state as a fact that shopping centers, market places, town squares, however they are called, are, and most probably will always be, the center of social activity and a necessity to the psychological functioning of human minds. From the beginning of time, there was always a need to trade things with others and sell what is yours for something better or newer. In the medieval times the market square was also a place for such things as town meetings, religious activity and transacting businesses while they did their shopping. Because of this, such activities seem to be showing that market places aren't just for buying but for social interaction as well.
When the city sprang up and the Industrialism boom began, the people of the city ran into suburbs built for the purpose of getting away from noise and clutter. Just on the outskirts of the city people flocked into suburban housing, cutting them off from the social square, the market place, the social ring. Instead people were forced to go their own ways and there was no longer a set location for people to meet. Cities destroyed the "centers" and instead replaced them with cold, smoking, steel factories.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that shopping centers, market places, and town squares are the center of social activity and a necessity to the psychological functioning of human minds.
- Explains that when the city sprang up and the industrialism boom began people ran into suburbs built for the purpose of getting away from noise and clutter.
- Explains that public transportation provided a common meeting place for citizens of the isolated suburbs to gather as they made their way to work and to day errands in the city.
- Explains that stores and businesses that were located in the busy sections before major factories began to lack normal business and profit because of the slow traffic in their service areas.
- Analyzes how traffic began to stream into the highways, and interstates and freeways provided alternate routes for road traffic. the need for a set spot for social gathering and business was growing
- Analyzes how gruen and smith tell about the scramble companies had to endure in the unsteady flow of customers and thus business. once businesses came together, providing an escape in one satisfying "community" called shopping centers, businesses could flourish again.
- Opines that shopping centers have a great effect in society. they provide entertainment for everyone when boredom kicks in or there is nothing better to do. shopping centers can be used to meet new people, pass by people we don't normally see, and rekindle old times.
- Opines that victor gruen and larry smith seem to have made these shopping centers out to be something that must be there to balance both society and the human mind.
- Opines that people need entertainment, shopping, social interaction, but there are other ways to fulfill these needs without going to the mall or shopping centers.
- Explains that the movies, clubs, bars, teen centers, restaurants, adult clubs and casinos can be an alternative to the "town square" that has evolved into present-day malls and shopping centers.
- Analyzes how society needs malls, shopping centers, and other such places to function, but meeting in one location is awkward and sometimes just out of the question.
Related
- opinionated
- analytical
- explanatory
- argumentative
- Revitalizing Downtown London Ontarioopinionated essayCreation of highway networks outside the city and subsequent growth of suburban communities transformed the way citizens worked lived and spent their leisure time. Downtown businesses closed or moved to malls inducing a reduction in downtown shopping and overall downtown commercial traffic.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the public's view of downtown was dirty, their philosophy was that it was "dirty with nothing going on."
- Explains that the creation of highway networks outside the city and subsequent growth of suburban communities transformed the way citizens worked, lived, and spent their leisure time. downtown businesses closed or moved to malls inducing a reduction in downtown shopping and overall downtown commercial traffic.
- Opines that the creation of suburbs and subsequent businesses that catered strictly to the suburb population played a huge role in depreciating the importance of downtown.
- Explains how to develop and implement marketing and promotional programs for downtown, including parking, housing, and business reinvestment programs.
- Recommends maintaining a list of individuals and organizations, including residents, for communication, marketing, promotion, and development purposes.
- Explains how to prepare a downtown tourism plan, assess downtowns tourism services and facilities, and develop short- and long-term plans.
- Aims to increase the downtown's residential population and develop a sense of community amongst all downtown residents by targeting specific areas for development.
- Proposes to create agreement with public and private sector property owners to cost share marketing/develop target market.
- Proposes programs and grants to allow for new housing developments and conversions of existing buildings.
- Explains that downtown london was characterized by neglected buildings, boarded up storefronts, and empty trash. the vacancy rate in the city was lower than the average in london.
- Opines that london's downtown is an international centre for arts, culture, tourism, education, and knowledge based industries. policies and plans must be enacted by groups that take both the initiative and responsibility.
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In this essay, the author
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- Explains that the city was an all-encompassing entity at the dawn of industrialization, but as it grew, society faced an evolving class system. public institutions were designed to bring education, culture, and community to modern city life.
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In this essay, the author
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- Cites farrell, james j., guterson, david, and kowinski, william.
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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In this essay, the author
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1276 wordsRead More - A Place Of Your Ownargumentative essayReading chapter 36 of The Malling of America, of William Kowinski, I see a man who does not like how America is progressing in time. He believes that we are heading towards a time when everyone will be preprogrammed to be hard-core consumers and the world is going to be dominated by money. In chapter 36 of his book, he explicitly blames the mall as being the cause and proponent of this change. I agree with Mr. Kowinski’s ideas of the changing world, but I do not agree that the shopping malls are to blame for the changes. The malls purpose is to produce a profit for the investors. If shopping centers were not profitable then it would not be there. Unlike Kowinski’s views of the mall, I see a place where people, especially young adults, congregate in a safe environment.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how william kowinski's book, the malling of america, explicitly blames the mall as the cause and proponent of this change. the malls purpose is to produce a profit for investors.
- Disagrees with kowinski's view that the benefits of a job in the mall are overrated. the mall also provides job for young adults who need the paycheck for living and/or education.
- Explains that a study by the international council of shopping centers found that there are many teenagers in shopping malls.
- Agrees with kowinski and david elkin about the concerns of "hurried child" and the social pressure to look like an adult at such a young age.
- Disagrees with kowinski's view of shopping malls. society has a sense of security of food water and shelter that allows us to challenge our selves in other ways.
648 wordsRead More