Shopping Malls in Latin America Essay

El Mall: The Spatial and Class Politics of Shopping Malls in Latin America



This paper delineates a summary and discussion of what the author points out in chapter two and three of the book.



The main argument made by the author in chapter two is how the retail world is experiencing globalization and how shopping mall professionals are on the rise. The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) in the past ten years or so has slowly been backed with substance. The international motivation and incentive was perceptible in the year 2013 where the commercial property development organizations flaunted maps of the globe with markings of their international footprints and where one could meet developers emanating from China, Canada and Europe. In turn, this instigated he development and enhancement of living standards across the world (Davila, 2016).



As pointed out, there is an increasing yearning for additional professional development from ICSC. In addition, there are mutual plans to develop and open equivalent educational programs throughout Latin America. However, without doubt, there is a significant progression of shopping malls all the way through the Latin America expanse. And with this spread, technologies in management are driving and steering the shopping mall business and Latin American communities closer in the direction toward collaboration with the interests of the international economy. With the development of shopping mall professionals, international organizations such as the ICSC will go on having a significant role to play in the Latin American area, not only by instigating professionalization but also educating and training them. A key aspect that can be perceived is the fact that the international shopping mall industry benefits from the pre-contemporary practices and network associations amidst the reigning elites in Latin America that it laments (Davila, 2016).



Chapter Three Summary



The third chapter delineates the wars in the retail world with respect to the politics that go on in terms of space and informal work. Colombia was incessantly pointed out as the most ideal new market by industry specialists considering the number of shopping centers had risen three fold since 2003. For instance, as of 2013, Unicentro had about 312 locales that had almost 600 owners and thirty percent of whom are the original merchant-owners. A good example illustrated by the author is that subsequent to the development of Unicentro as pointed out above, the price of commercial space for every square footage ended up changing forever. This is owing to the fact that the shopping center ended up being the medium whereby space accumulated and amassed value in the form of not only convenience but also hyper security. From that point on, commercial space within a shopping mall has continued…