3 ms·

One notable difference I think with many malls in Europe and other countries, compared to America, is that they tend to be integrated with the surrounding town/

by jemmyw 3y ago

One notable difference I think with many malls in Europe and other countries, compared to America, is that they tend to be integrated with the surrounding town/shopping area. They are less likely to be a standalone place you drive to. Both of the malls I grew up near were like that, you could park at the mall, then walk out of the mall into the busy high street. Rather than feeling like a completely separate entity it was a continuation that also had the food court. I know there were big out of town malls in the UK, but going there was a special trip, and then they were always a disappointment, despite the grandeur.

A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
That's true, but I'd say that in Europe the ratio is close to 50/50. Prague, for instance, has a few malls in the city proper, and several more (like, e.g., "Europark" and "Fashion Arena") that are primarily accessible via car or public transit. I wouldn't say that one type is in decline whereas the other type isn't.
gvurrdon 3y ago
I recall one of those; right in the centre, as you describe. It was open by the mid 1980s, IIRC. It had a cafe and various pleasant seating areas within, such as this: https://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/currys-store-queensgate/ https://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/currys-store-queensgate... Last time I looked these had all been removed, and the main "flagship" store closed down; certainly no longer the exciting day out I remember from when it was new. Perhaps this is due to the increasing number of retail parks which have appeared in the area this century.
- jemmyw 3y ago
  I moved away from the UK in 2007 and I understand there have been quite significant changes to the high street in general over there since then. I live in NZ now and the malls around here are integrated like I described. They're also quite small because population. I will call bullshit on my own original post though. I used to live near Santa Rosa CA and that had a mall that spilt into the street stores that I had forgotten about, so it's not actually a difference between the US and the rest of the world. My general point though is I think those are friendlier malls than the out of town variety.
sandworm101 3y ago
The word mall used to mean street. The original malls were streets with stores, not a single structure. The old scheme was a natural evolution of the local market and grew or shrunk with demand. Todays malls are large rental properties populated by shops, with little ability to adapt as markets change.
- drewcoo 3y ago
  Clearly here what's meant by mall is "shopping center," modeled on the first one in the 1950s in the twin cities, not places like the National Mall in D.C.

by jemmyw 3y ago

A_D_E_P_T 3y ago

That's true, but I'd say that in Europe the ratio is close to 50/50. Prague, for instance, has a few malls in the city proper, and several more (like, e.g., "Europark" and "Fashion Arena") that are primarily accessible via car or public transit. I wouldn't say that one type is in decline whereas the other type isn't.

gvurrdon 3y ago

I recall one of those; right in the centre, as you describe. It was open by the mid 1980s, IIRC. It had a cafe and various pleasant seating areas within, such as this: https://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/currys-store-queensgate/ https://www.peterboroughimages.co.uk/currys-store-queensgate... Last time I looked these had all been removed, and the main "flagship" store closed down; certainly no longer the exciting day out I remember from when it was new. Perhaps this is due to the increasing number of retail parks which have appeared in the area this century.

jemmyw 3y ago
I moved away from the UK in 2007 and I understand there have been quite significant changes to the high street in general over there since then. I live in NZ now and the malls around here are integrated like I described. They're also quite small because population. I will call bullshit on my own original post though. I used to live near Santa Rosa CA and that had a mall that spilt into the street stores that I had forgotten about, so it's not actually a difference between the US and the rest of the world. My general point though is I think those are friendlier malls than the out of town variety.

sandworm101 3y ago

The word mall used to mean street. The original malls were streets with stores, not a single structure. The old scheme was a natural evolution of the local market and grew or shrunk with demand. Todays malls are large rental properties populated by shops, with little ability to adapt as markets change.

drewcoo 3y ago
Clearly here what's meant by mall is "shopping center," modeled on the first one in the 1950s in the twin cities, not places like the National Mall in D.C.