Shopping centres: Difference between revisions

The Shopping Gallery Harfa opened fall 2010. The Fenix Shopping Gallery opened in 2008. They both lie in a driving distance of approximately 5 minutes from the biggest shopping area in Prague and the Czech Republic - OC Letňany built in 1999. I visited Fenix on the 23rd December and it felt like ghost town. On one of the busiest days of the year! This experience made me wonder, how is it possible, that energy and resources are wasted for redundant chapels of consume. In Czech Republic the so called area standard – square metres of shops per inhabitant – has tripled since 1989 from 0,331[1] to 1,1 in 2009[2]. That means that every citizen in this country has their own square metre for shopping. Compared to Brno for example, which announced a value of 1,78[3], Prague might seem quite empty with its 0,87[4]. The velocity of new shopping centre openings however teases common sense. Prague is fancied for its intimacy and was honoured to become a part of the UNESCO world heritage in 1992 thanks to its historical value. Does the construction boom present a threat for its uniqueness? Sýkora (2006) warns that new investments after 1990 contributed to densification in central city morphology including rapid growth in car traffic and consequent congestion, which turned out to be especially critical in Prague. Furthermore, Sýkora adds, there have been numerous conflicts between investors and the protection of historic buildings and urban landscapes. Another argument in the discussion is environmental sustainability. As the City Development Authority Prague points out, developing commercial areas significantly increase the proportion of built-up land and so decrease opportunities for setting up adequate proportions of greenery. Numerous civic petitions for maintaining parks or other free land in different parts of the city were signed. Rumour has it though that in the Czech Republic, the democratic governance of people is carried out without the people. I will take a closer look at the situation of shopping centre construction in Prague and try to find out, what is happening and whether there is a problem of some kind.  

<br>During the development of my case study I have learned that the construction of shopping centres features more aspects than the ecological one I have been concerned about. Architects are concerned about the design, small traders feel discriminated, citizens complain about traffic congestions… <br>The most worrying matter however is the lack of effective communication in the process preceding the construction itself. Starting from insufficient cooperation between administrative organs through to the absence of specialist (architects, environmentalists) tuition and ending by limited possibilities of participation of citizens. Therefore a research question arises: Do the Czech laws concerning the decision making process posses enough control mechanisms to prevent corruption and assure equal possibilities of involvement of all affected sides? <br><br>