malls are a disgrace to humanity
dkmon202
i went to the Discover Mills mall today to buy some sandals, and the violence of my disgust at the whole experience surprised me. it wasn't just the usual aversion i feel toward commercial centers for the distasteful and idle consumption it encourages...i think it was how offensively garish and expansive it was, a sprawling, 1.2 million square foot land of trashy tv ads on repeat.
Menlo Park mall was not so obnoxious, as I remember...probably because it didn't try be a carnival, desperate to keep you transfixed by the b-side rides, poorly maintained outlet stores, gimmicky restaurants (they have a huge Medieval Times attached, gah!), exotic Asian/"nature" trinket stores, etc. Menlo Park was elegant in design, much more compact with two levels and a straightforward linear layout, lots of natural light, and seating amid the trees in the cafeteria. Discover Mills is...just too big. And not tall big, just wide big. It could be half the size if they only built UP! Much more accessible, less stagnant....
That's probably what I take most offense at down here in the south...that man takes up so much SPACE with ugly, unnatural buildings and things. Yeah, I get it, there's more space to work with, but is it necessary to fill it all? The way construction down here spreads its legs is vulgar. How many shopping centers does an area need? None of them are ever at max capacity, there are acres of empty parking lots because there's too much supply, the demand has a hard time keeping up...and with everything spread out, it takes that much longer to GET anywhere you need to go. This might sound like I'm concerned with the detrimental impact of suburban sprawl on the environment, and I guess I am...but perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that it's the inefficiency of everything here that really pisses me off. What a Waste Land.
i went to the Discover Mills mall today to buy some sandals, and the violence of my disgust at the whole experience surprised me. it wasn't just the usual aversion i feel toward commercial centers for the distasteful and idle consumption it encourages...i think it was how offensively garish and expansive it was, a sprawling, 1.2 million square foot land of trashy tv ads on repeat.
Menlo Park mall was not so obnoxious, as I remember...probably because it didn't try be a carnival, desperate to keep you transfixed by the b-side rides, poorly maintained outlet stores, gimmicky restaurants (they have a huge Medieval Times attached, gah!), exotic Asian/"nature" trinket stores, etc. Menlo Park was elegant in design, much more compact with two levels and a straightforward linear layout, lots of natural light, and seating amid the trees in the cafeteria. Discover Mills is...just too big. And not tall big, just wide big. It could be half the size if they only built UP! Much more accessible, less stagnant....
That's probably what I take most offense at down here in the south...that man takes up so much SPACE with ugly, unnatural buildings and things. Yeah, I get it, there's more space to work with, but is it necessary to fill it all? The way construction down here spreads its legs is vulgar. How many shopping centers does an area need? None of them are ever at max capacity, there are acres of empty parking lots because there's too much supply, the demand has a hard time keeping up...and with everything spread out, it takes that much longer to GET anywhere you need to go. This might sound like I'm concerned with the detrimental impact of suburban sprawl on the environment, and I guess I am...but perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that it's the inefficiency of everything here that really pisses me off. What a Waste Land.
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