Shopping Malls And Spatial Interactions Of People In Saudi Arabia

101 Pages·2013·0.68 MB·English

Shopping Malls And Spatial Interactions
Of People In Saudi Arabia
A thesis submitted to the
Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Architecture
In the School of Architecture and Interior Design
Of the College of Design, Architecture, Artand Planning
by
Hazim Alhazmi
B.S. in Architecture
King Saud University
Jul 2009
Committee Chair:
Elleh, Nnamdi Ph.D.
Committee Member:
Cabalfin, Edson Ph.D.
Abstract
In the past, bazaars constituted a chain of shops along a street that were known to sell a
variety of goods. Shopping malls evolved from the traditional form of bazaars where people
would frequent to buy goods from local artisans, craftsmen as well as farm products from local
farmers. Owing to the oil boom in the Middle East in the late 20th century, particularly, from
1974 -1980, there was a rapid developmentof these facilities as people invested oil money in
land purchase and construction of commercial buildings. As time went by, investors sought to
incorporate leisure facilities into the mall structures thereby creating the modern day malls and
bazaars. This was particularly necessary due to the lack of nature parks and other recreational
areas, aspects that can be attributed to dry conditions of the region hence limited productive
acreage. As a result, malls in Saudi Arabia have become cultural hotspot where people of all
ages, nationalities, and races come to meet and interact.
The number of people visiting the country has been on the increase. The factors behind
visiting this wonderful country are diverse and not limited to the scope of cultural factors and
religion, age, gender, among other demographic characteristics. The influence on individuals’
capacity to visit shopping malls to purchase their needs, do window shopping, or socialize is
therefore varied. The rationale behind this is that while some shoppers seek social exploration,
others are after recreational facilities and opportunities.Being an activity that involves face-to-
face interactions between buyers and sellers in the mall, shopping has become an agent for
breaking cultural boundaries in the society of Saudi Arabia as people interact with each other.
This thesis is an observation of the emerging social interactions in the malls in Saudi Arabia.
i
ii
Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to thank God for His uncountable blessings and my success.
I would like to thank my family members for their support, and in particular, my mother.
She always asked aboutme, supported me whenever in need and motivated me to continue
with my studies andmy future career. May God bless her life and increaseher health and
wellness.
Subsequently, I thank the members of the faculty in University of Cincinnati for their role
and effective contribution, guidance and observations, which had a clear impact in making thesis
a success.
I would like to thank Professor NnamdiElleh for his guidance and faith in me. He always
gave me ideas to develop my writing skills and supported me in my research subjects. I was
greatly influenced by his experience and thoughts in my thesis. He always motivated me to do
my best, to achieve the best results.
I also pass my gratitude to Professor Edson Cabalfin for his patience and the
encouragement he offered. He gave me the ideas Iused for my thesis topic from the beginning.
He gave his time sufficiently in assisting me to develop my research skills and methods,
alongside enlightening me on how to find the references for my topic.
In addition, I thank all my friends for their friendship, support and their ideas which helped
me develop this thesis. During my studies, I have spent a wonderful time with them and I wish
them all the best.
Finally, I thank all who contributed to the completion and success of this work. I pray for
success, peace and love for all from God.
iii
Preface
Since childhood, I have always had memories of my mother taking me to places, with the
most unforgettable being shopping centers and bazaars. My attention was attracted to almost
everything around me, from the moving cars and motorcycles, the colloquial language of the
people who served and visited to the spectacular aircrafts in the air and the serene and elegant
environment inside the buildings. For instance, I remember one day when I went with my
mother to one of the shopping malls near the house to buy some items for the home and
clothes as well. My mother went to a store for women clothes and she asked me to wait for
her in the seats outside of the store. This was because religious and political roles inside most
of these malls did not allow men and young boys in women settings. While I was waiting for
my mother a special elevator in the middle of the market caught my attention. I was that
attracted especially by its vertical movement from bottom to top, and how it stopped on
different floors.
Being the curious and adventurous boy, I decided to leave the seat against my mother’s
instructions and went inside the elevator and begun pressing all the buttons in the elevator. At
the beginning, it was fun to go up and down while watching the scene through the elevator
mirrors overlooking the fountain in the courtyard of the inner shopping center. However, when
I stopped at another floor, I found myself lost and I couldn’t find the store where my mother
had asked me to wait for her. I panicked and started crying until one of the security men came
to me and asked what the problem was. He then took me to the customer care department of
the Trade Center, where my name and my mother’s name were announced in the loudspeaker
inside the mall. In a few minutes, my mother came to the center and found me. She was initially
angry at me because I did not follow her instructions to wait for her outside of the women’s
iv
wear store, but after that I start to explained why I left my seat and what happened, she
understood my curiosity and made me promise never to do it again.
This incident, however, served to increase my fascination with shopping malls, a trait
that I hold on to date and keep nurturing through regular fun-having visits with my family. I
attribute this passion mainly to the non-discriminatory nature of the places since all people,
young or old, male or female, and from all races are free to visit and enjoy. Similarly there are
inadequate nature parks and recreational places in which people can meet for interaction and
entertainment purposes. It is for these reasons that I decided to base my study on the evolution
of Saudi Arabian shopping malls to understand the role they play in individuals’ lives and how to
improve them.
v
Table of Contents
Abstract …………………….………………………………………………………………….. i
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………………..……… ii
Preface ……………………………………………………………………………………...…. iii
List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………… 9
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Chapter Preview……………………………………………………………………………10
1.2 Background ………………………………………………………………………………… 11
1.3 The Problem ……………………………………………………………………………….. 13
1.4 Aim and Significance of the study………………………………………………………….. 14
1.5 Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………. 15
1.6 Methodology ………………………………………………………………………………. 16
1.7 Literature review…………………………………………………………………………... 22
1.8 Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………………….…33
CHAPTER 2: TRADITIONAL SHOPPING PLACES IN SAUDI ARABIA
2.1 Chapter Preview…………………………………………………………………………. 34
2.2 Definitions of shopping Mall ………………………………………………………………35
2.3 Urban form and shopping places …………………………………………………….…... 41
2.4 The Beginning of Shopping Malls in Saudi Arabia ………………………………………... 44
2.5 Select Types Malls in History …………………………………………………….……… 50
2.6 Chapter Summary ……………………………………………………………………..…. 62
CHAPTER 3: THE MALL AS A NEW PART OF SAUDI SOCIAL LIFE
3.1 Chapter Review ……………………………………………………………………….... 64
3.2 Effects of Shopping Malls on Lifestyle of Saudis people ……………………………….... 65
3.3 Culture and Spatial Interactions ……………………………………………………….... 73
3.4 Shopping malls as a social environment………………………………………………... 81
3.5 Shopping malls as a physical environment ………………………………………………83
3.6 Chapter Summary ………………………………………………………………………. 87
CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION
4.1 Discussion of the results ………………………………………………………………… 90
4.2 Imputations ………………………………………………………………………………. 95
Bibliography ………………………………………………………………………………... 98
List of Figures
Figure1: Saudi Arabia growth rate …………………………...…………………………...….. 20
Figure2: The Dubai Mall aquarium ………………………...……………………………...…..38
Figure3: Saudi Arabia Population statistics………………………...………………………….. 50
Figure4: Shoppers in a Souk ……………………………...…………………………………... 54
Figure5: An example of a floating market ………………...………………………………….. 56
Figure6: Piazza Novana in Rome …………………………...……………………………..…..58
Figure7: Gosudarstvenny University Magazin …………...…………………………………....60
Figure8: Fifth Avenue in New York …………………………...…………………………..…. 61
Figure 9: Parisian Arcade ………………………………………………………………..…….. 62
Figure 10: Commercial Advert……………………………………………………..….………68
Figure 11: Modern Saudi Woman in trousers ……………………………………..….….…… 71
9