Are shopping malls private or public spaces?

Question

This is a popular discussion in many readings but I would like to hear your opinions and perhaps even sources?

For me I think the space is a facade of a public space. By 'Public' we assume that the space is accessible to everyone, but in reality these spaces are not.

You have to have money, or purpose to be in a shopping mall. You cannot just approach anyone and speak to them or do anything in these spaces. If you just pitched a picnic in the middle of a shopping centre or even ate your own homemade sandwhich at a food court table you would be asked to leave. These places are masks for what is really going on which is actually just shopping. We are being made to feel like something 'bigger' with more purpose is happening, but is it really?

I hope you have something to add :)

Answer 1

You're right!  One of the reasons shopping malls are proliferating in the US, and old-fashioned shopping neighborhoods are dying out, is that it's easier to control the environment in a shopping mall.  You can throw out 'undesirables' like people passing out pamphlets or wearing sandwich signs, or 'undesirable' elements like the homeless.  It's private property with all that entails.  You can hire private security forces who aren't subject to public approval like the city police force. You can also control the options, for instance a mall might have only one store selling a certain thing, so competition is elminated. One mall near here has six shoe stores selling different categories of shoes, but they are all the same company!

Whether shopping at a mall is more or less convenient than the shopping streets and neighborhoods we used to have is questionable, but it's becoming a moot point because we no longer have the choice.

Answer 2

Private

Answer 3

A public space, like a park, is open to the public because it belongs to the community, although the community can regulate the hours that people may go there.  A mall, shopping center, or store are owned by either a person or corporation and as such, is private property.  You are permitted by the owner to go there but they can forbid you entry, in the form of a no tresspass notice.

Answer 4

Shopping malls are privately owned. Most people think of them as public spaces, but they aren't.