The Public-Private Dynamics of the Mall in Columbia

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Shopping mall is one of the most important social and cultural invention of the modern society. Nowadays, it has become an important part of people’s leisure lives. The invention of the idea of the modern shopping malls originates from James Rouse, a pioneer American urban developer and planner. This essay will discuss the aspects of market segmentation, space planning, and public space in Rouse’s visualization of shopping malls and town centers.

Market segmentation brought management and order into the malls and enhanced their status in the town communities. Traditionally, the business and shopping districts were merely a chaotic mixture of “old and new buildings, parks, strange characters, public spectacles, high- and low-end shopping, and locally owned stores (Bloom, 2004).” There was no sense of structure, design, management, or security. The layering and segmentation came with the suburban boom after the WWII. One of the major effects of segmentation was that it made the idea of management and control over a community region possible. Through the planned areas and their functions, it became possible for the designer and managers to have a general control over the malls and its integrated functions (Figure 1). Moreover, logical segmentation also enabled customers to find whatever functions they needed quickly, saving a tremendous amount of time. Different segments also combined to form a flow of functions and services, enhancing the status of the malls to community activity centers.

In Columbia, Maryland, Rouse promised a reinvention of the American community through rational space planning. The major effect of suburban rational spacing planning was that it significantly increased the quality of life in the suburban areas without a city government, by simulating “urban-level services” (Bloom, 2004). The rational factor in the space planning was supported by Metropolitan Research, which brought significant help in assessing project feasibility and increasing the chance for the projects to succeed (Mitchell, 2007). Meanwhile, rational planning also increased suburban mall income to an unprecedented level, by attracting all types of businesses and customers without creating a chaos. The rational spacing model of Columbia put the place on the map. With the application of “cutting-edge exposition exhibits and museums (Bloom, 2004),” Rouse and his team successfully made Columbia a brand and a vision of the future. It has attracted over one million visitors by 1971, and became a national model for private new suburban area development (Figure 2).

The goal of the public space design was to provide a space that the open to the majority, and was “relatively sanitary and safe (Goss, 1993)” From the ideological perspective, the public space in the shopping mall should be a perfect demonstration of democracy and equality, where every spending customer was entitled the opportunity to relax, shop, and be entertained. Such equality was only relative, as malls were first intended to be a “purified” social space for the white middle class suburban Americans (Goss, 1993). However, Rouse did have a vision to have the mall act as a reforming factor in the society, by promising its access to racial minorities and the poor. The invention of the public space carried the mission to influence people positively through the color, texture, nature, beauty, serving as a positive factor that contributes to the visitors’ lives (Bloom, 2004). Basically, this mall and the public space was Rouse’s idea of utopia (Figure 3).

In conclusion, market segmentation, rational space planning, and public space are integrated to make Rouse’s visions so successful. Market segmentation introduced order, security, and management to the malls. Space planning significantly improves the quality of life and financial income for a suburban region. Finally, the idea of a public space is not only functional, but also contributive to social reform and integration, with the ultimate vision of a Utopia-like space.

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