Keywords
shopping centers, consumption, social classes, youth, cities
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology
Abstract
This article seeks to analyze the discourses and, especially, the everyday spatial practices of different user groups at the Plaza Vespucio and Florida Center malls, and to establish how these practices and discourses transform the mall into an open and relatively free space where class and age identities are enacted and social inequalities are negotiated. We argue that the mall provides a meeting place where everyone, except the poorest, is accepted, as well as an attractive and welcoming environment that allows users to transfer practices from other spaces and generate specific practices of social differentiation. The mall also imposes limits and restrictions that are constantly being negotiated with its users. The article is based on three qualitative studies conducted during 2008 and 2009: an ethnography carried out in the food court of the Florida Center Mall, a series of focus groups with high school students from the La Florida district, and observations of teenagers during their visits to the Plaza Vespucio mall.
Original Citation
Stillerman, J., & Salcedo, R. (2010). Es mucho más que comprar… Discursos y prácticas espaciales cotidianas en Malls de Santiago.. Estudios Avanzados, (13), 79-103.
ScholarWorks Citation
Stillerman, Joel and Salcedo, Rodrigo, "Es mucho más que comprar… Discursos y prácticas espaciales cotidianas en Malls de Santiago" (2010). Peer Reviewed Articles. 15.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/soc_articles/15
