Shopping mall; a modern day phenomenon<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Shopping, which was once considered a chore, has become over
\nthe years a pastime, leading to the development of shopping malls
\nas we know them today.<\/p>\n
A shopping mall in which stores are arranged in a row with a
\nsidewalk in front and developed as a unit with a large parking
\nlot are a relatively recent development that corresponded with
\nthe rise of suburbs after World War II in the United States.<\/p>\n
In the late 20th century, with the rise of the suburb and
\nautomobile culture in the U.S., a new form of mall was created
\naway from the city centers.<\/p>\n
The first concept of a modern shopping mall in the U.S. was
\ndeveloped by the Austrian-born architect Victor Gruen, who based
\nhis model on the inner city's shopping district of Vienna.<\/p>\n
The first mall constructed based on his concept was the
\nNorthgate mall, which was located in North Seattle.<\/p>\n
Later, he used his ideas to build new models for Northland
\nShopping Center, built near Detroit, in 1954 and Victor Gruen's
\nSouthdale Center, located in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina,
\nMinnesota in 1956.<\/p>\n
From there, malls spread throughout America and the rest of
\nthe world.<\/p>\n
A very large shopping mall or megamall appeared in Canada.
\nWest Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada has held the title of the
\nlargest enclosed shopping mall for 20 years.<\/p>\n
The most visited shopping mall in the world and largest mall
\nin the United States is the Mall of America, located near the
\nTwin Cities in Bloomington, Minnesota.<\/p>\n
In recent times, as more modern facilities are built, many
\nearly malls have become largely abandoned, due to decreased
\ntraffic and tenancy.<\/p>\n
These dated and deteriorating \"dead malls\" have failed to
\nattract new business and often sit unused for many years until
\nrestored or demolished.<\/p>\n
While the \"shelf lives\" of old malls have expired in
\ndeveloped countries, malls have made their way into the
\ndeveloping world.<\/p>\n
Beijing's Golden Resources Shopping Mall opened in October
\n2004 is currently the world's largest, at 6 million square feet
\n(600,000 square meters).<\/p>\n
The Mall of Arabia inside Dubai Land in Dubai, the United Arab
\nEmirates, which will open in 2006, will become the largest mall
\nin the world.<\/p>\n
Arguably, both are smaller than Berjaya Times Square, which is
\nadvertised at 7 million square feet.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, especially in Jakarta, the modern shopping mall
\nis also a recent phenomenon, which thrived in tandem with the
\nrise of the nouveau riche that came after the oil boom in the
\nearly 1980s.<\/p>\n
However, the country's first modern shopping mall was
\nconstructed long before that period.<\/p>\n
The mall, more appropriately called a department store, is
\nSarinah on Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta, which was constructed
\nin the early 1960s.<\/p>\n
The brainchild of the country's first president, Soekarno,
\nSarinah was intended to be the first modern shopping mall in the
\ncountry and has served its function until the new models of mall
\nwere later introduced.<\/p>\n
A state-owned company, Sarinah now has 13 outlets throughout
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
After Sarinah, which continues to thrive, the second
\ngeneration of popular shopping mall is Pasaraya, a chain owned by
\nlocal businessman Abdul Latief.<\/p>\n
Basing its concept on the Japanese Seibu supermarket, Pasaraya
\nruled the market from the early 1970s onward until more modern
\nshopping malls with cutting-edge concepts eclipsed its services.<\/p>",
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