[Urbanstudy] First Posting. Gentrification and Class regulation in the Mall.

[ipsita sahu]

Hello all,

My research project for the Sarai Student Stipendship 2007 is a study
of the malls and multiplexes in Ghaziabad as a part of the wider
suburban materiality. I am looking into the nature of suburbanization
and the role of these built forms as produced and thus expressive of
this process of transformation. My first posting  looks into issues of
gentrification, and class regulation in the malls.

The generic design of the Mall with retail shops arranged in a row
along pathways is modeled along the lines of the traditional street
arcade. It creates a pseudo- street atmosphere within an interior
space. The mall misses out on nothing that one finds in the
traditional market including grocery stores and small vendor
shops-'chaat-shop', corn stand, 'pan-shop',  dotted strategically
along the corners of the mall in a street like fashion. However, the
'enclosure' of these shops inside a larger interior space consciously
separates these consumer spaces from the street and all the street
experiences so loathed by the urban gentry- the noise, stench, dirt,
uncomfortable weather, and contact with the threatening urban mob. The
boundary walls of these premises and the security checks primarily
function as cordons for segregating the urban poor from these
exclusive gentried premises. The built structure of the mall thus
territorializes and gentrifies consumer space by spatially dividing
two economic classes- the ones with purchasing power and the ones
without it. It creates a secure place for the affluent class of the
society who do not have to come in contact with the 'dark' figures of
the metropolis- the 'uncouth, unsophisticated and potentially violent
and harmful' urban poor. (During my interaction with a few security
guards at the entry gates of the Pacific mall, Shipra mall and East
Delhi Mall, it was revealed that the guards were strictly told to
prevent members of the labour classes such as the cab drivers,
vendors, rickshapullers, and others who were not 'dressed' properly or
'looked' appropriate- 'as when someone wears slippers or is unshaven
or reeks of liquor.' Even forceful measures are taken if required to
keep them out. This is done in order to maintain a 'congenial
atmosphere' within these premises.)


Malls provide idyllic spaces for the urban gentry to 'relax' and find
temporary respite from personal problems through indulgence and
distraction. The fast-paced temporal rhythm of the city produces a
hyperstimulated mind and for such a mental state, there is no better
calm than distraction. The hyper sensorial environment in the mall
space anesthetizes the consumer with its deluge of visual stimuli and
produces a 'distracted' state of mind, which enables the suspension of
memory and thus provides escape from gnawing worries, tensions and
difficulties that arise from living hectic and demanding lives in the
city. These enclosed 'urban dreamscapes' with their alluring and
attractive appearance and feel-good atmosphere thus provide temporary
refuge for urban dwellers from the hostile, ugly, threatening and
overpowering outside cityscape. As for indulgence, shopping provides
the ultimate recreation for urban consumers as they spend a large part
of their time and energy cultivating consumer lifestyles, which has
become an important mode of forming identities in cities. In large
cities where relationships are mostly based on fleeting, distanced and
reserved associations and judgments have to be based on superficial
grounds, material possessions and outward appearances go a long way in
functioning as modes of sociability. Not only in relation to those who
are 'known' but especially in public spaces in the midst of the
absolute unknowns, the strangers, where visual apperceptions forms the
only medium of communication, the outer make of a person such as one's
clothes, accessories, general get up, body language etc become
effective representative codes to ascertain a person's status, class,
community etc. As stated by Simmel, fashion and lifestyles are social
regulatory systems of stratification and hierarchiasation within the
broad economic class of consumers. As much as these function as means
of individuation and identification with a certain desired group, they
also at the same time serve as modes of differentiation and separation
from other groups.

Malls with its cultural identity as storehouses of fashion and
lifestyle goods are sites, which superbly demonstrate this social
phenomenon of stratification amongst the higher economic class of the
society. The liking and preferences of consumers for any particular
mall is curiously based on the class of customers who come to these
malls and their fashion predilections is also determined by the
associations they draw between the fashion trends extolled by a
particular mall and the type of consumers that it appeals to.   I have
already stated as to how the mall in its role as a public space
structurally and through surveillance regulates the inflow of
consumers by the segregation of the lower income groups. However, it
has no such means to discriminate between the different income groups
within the consumer class and to privilege any particular group.
However considering the way social hierarchies affect the economic
prospects of the mall, different malls have devised various strategies
to attract a particular income group, while at the same time
dispelling other groups. For instance, the type of retail shops and
the general standards of price range and design cater to the tastes
and affordability of a certain class. Similarly, the architectural
design and interior décor appeal to the specific tastes of certain
groups. The location of a mall also determines its clientele. (The
malls of Ghaziabad follow this pattern for one is able to see a
distinct variation in the crowd of each of these malls such as the
Shipra Mall, Pacific Mall, East Delhi Mall, Crossriver Mall and Ansal
Plaza. I intend to give a detailed description of how clientele is
regulated in these malls as my fieldwork looking into these areas is
completed.)


Not all who come to the mall have serious consumerist objectives in
mind. A large part of the mall crowd consists of the youth who
frequent these places simply to 'hang out' and 'kill time', which does
not necessarily have to include buying. One sees these figures, some
loners, others in groups and many as couples sauntering around the
place surveying window displays or just idly standing along railings
and other such recesses and observing the general activity inside the
mall. These 'flaneurs' make the most of the magnificent sensorium of
the mall and revel in its exhibitionist spectacle. The mall in its
turn caters to their interests and provides special niches and
'hang-out zones' such as the food-court, coffee houses and the
multiplex in an attempt to eke out as much as possible out of the
limited purchasing capacities of these consumers.

The mall constantly devises new means to convert 'pseudo-buyers' into
real consumers. In this respect it far surpasses the traditional
street arcades in its capacity and effectiveness to perpetuate
consumer culture. By virtue of its architectural design of being an
enclosed space, the mall exercises its greatest advantage over street
arcades. The street arcade has both exterior and interior within the
shopping complex, i.e. the shops and the street, and this arrangement
provides a threshold for casual window shoppers and other chance
viewers enabling them to resist the drawing forces of the attractive
facades of retail shops. However, within the enclosed space of the
mall there is no escape from the luring forces acting upon the
consumer from all sides.

(I will carry out this discussion about the luring power of the mall
in my second posting where I will look into the architectonics and the
use of lights, music and the role of window displays in creating an
attractive sensorium inside the malls)