1/10/21 16:40 Shopping centre -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Shopping centre
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Shopping centre, also called shopping mall, or shopping plaza, 20th-century adaptation of
the historical marketplace, with accommodation made for automobiles. A shopping centre is a
collection of independent retail stores, services, and a parking area conceived, constructed, and
maintained by a management firm as a unit. Shopping centres may also contain restaurants,
banks, theatres, professional offices, service stations, and other establishments.
Aspects considered by planners when a shopping centre
is to be built include feasibility of the site in terms of the
community’s ability to support a centre; adequate
vehicular access; and size, access, and topography of the
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Tebrau City: shopping centre Shopping centre in
Tebrau City, Malay. Terence Ong
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Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Geoff Tompkinson/GTImage.com (A Britannica Publishing
Partner )
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site, as well as availability of utilities, zoning
laws, and land use in the immediate area.
Economic conditions of the area, the sociology
of the region, and local commercial
competition and attitudes determine the size of
centre that can be supported and the kind of
stores acceptable to a given locale.
Shopping centres are generally of
neighbourhood, community, or regional scope.
The smallest type, the neighbourhood centre,
usually has a supermarket as a focus, with
daily convenience shops such as a drugstore,
shoe repair, laundry, and dry cleaner
accompanying it. Such a centre can usually
serve 2,500 to 40,000 people within a six-
minute drive.
The community shopping centre contains all of
the
above-mentioned services in addition to a medium-sized department store or variety store,
Centro comercial
