The Mall and the Street: Practices of Public Consumption in Mumbai

Transposing the Urban to the Mall

“…Will patterns of transposition in Santiago translate to other Latin American cities? Will the juxtaposition of street markets and malls in Cairo (Abaza 2001), Mumbai (Anjaria 2008), and other cities in the Global South generate similar patterns of transposition given their distinct cultures and histories? Do low-income and immigrant residents in the United States and Europe transpose practices from flea markets or immigrant stores to malls?…”

“…Teenage girls visit malls not to make purchases but to socialize, play video games, and watch boys (Haytko and Baker 2004); members of youth subcultures attempt to control "turf" within malls (Bermúdez 2003(Bermúdez , 2008; unemployed youth and the elderly visit malls and spend little or no money (Fisk 1989(Fisk [2000; Lewis 1990); and teens engage in prohibited behaviors such as panhandling or drug sales (Lewis 1989(Lewis , 1990Matthews et al 2000;Ortiz 1994) Consumers attach local meanings to malls. In London, members of ethnic groups construct and defend identities through mall visits (Miller et al 1998); Egyptian youth flout parental authority by engaging in courtship rituals in malls and attend "traditional" coffee houses that blur the boundary between mall and bazaar (Abaza 2001;compare Baldauf 2008 on Dubai); and Mumbai, India malls face stiff competition from street vendors (Anjaria 2008).…”

“…Malls’ common location near traditional markets or poor communities there allows the poor to access them by foot or public transit (Abaza 2001; Sabatini and Arenas 2000). Poor people in Cape Town, South Africa, and Mumbai, India, have gained access to malls over time (Anjaria 2008; Houssay-Hozschuch and Teppo 2009). Even in the United States, developers have created open-air malls or streetscapes adjacent to malls because of enclosed malls’ declining popularity (Berger 2005).…”

“…Consumers attach local meanings to malls. In London, members of ethnic groups construct and defend identities through mall visits (Miller et al 1998); Egyptian youth flout parental authority by engaging in courtship rituals in malls and attend “traditional” coffee houses that blur the boundary between mall and bazaar (Abaza 2001; compare Baldauf 2008 on Dubai); and Mumbai, India malls face stiff competition from street vendors (Anjaria 2008).…”

Toward a Social Topography

“…Like shopping centers in other late-industrializing countries (Abaza 2001; Anjaria 2008; Hobden 2014; Houssay-Hozschuch and Teppo 2009; Stillerman and Salcedo 2012), Turkish malls exist within a different socioeconomic environment than the one to which malls were introduced in North America and Western Europe. In contrast to the American suburban mall, shopping centers in Turkey are overwhelmingly concentrated in the urban core and linked to various channels of public transportation (Erkip 2005; Ertekin et al 2008).…”