AKINDELE AKINROPO: Hello.
My name is Akindele O. Akinropo.
I'm an urban planner studying sustainable development
in Malaysia.
The study of this course in this video
compares shopping at two malls.
The first one is Jusco mall located
in the heart of Bukit Indah in Johor,
and the other is Alamanda in Putrajaya,
the administrative headquarters of Malaysia.
In this video, I want to share with you
my research on the sustainable dimensions of shopping malls.
Sustainable development means different things
to different people.
However, it generally refers to using environmental resources
in a way that allows other generations to continue
to use and preserve it.
Shopping in malls can be sustainable
under certain conditions.
For instance, the processes of siting, building,
and using malls need to be properly organized
within the urban system to promote city livability
and environmental performance.
Mall sustainability will be guaranteed
when site and operation discourage carbon emissions,
encourage socialization, and promote continuous wealth
generation.
This discussion naturally brings some questions to one's mind.
For instance, are malls actually important to city
sustainability?
If so, in what specific ways?
What kinds of malls are good and what other factors make
shopping malls sustainable?
This video will explore the following empirically observed
points.
Sustainable malls can and should be
a part of sustainable city development in the developing
world.
They can contribute to sustainable development
if designed, operated, and located properly.
Larger shopping malls are better than smaller ones
because a larger scale allows for diversified activities
and goods.
Malls need to be linked with public transportation.
In the next couple of minutes we'll
go through each of these points.
I want to highlight why more development is
important in the sustainable development discussion.
First, cities are noticeably growing more vertically
than horizontally.
High skylines have become a symbol
of our contemporary space-limited cities.
City residents now live, work, and play in tall buildings.
Shopping in high rise mall is today
connected to ideals of urban life.
Consumer behavior theories call this image-ability,
which is connected with the quality
in a physical object that evokes a strong image
in the observers.
Aside from the large size of the mall, advanced technology,
aesthetics, convenience, organized parking,
and cleanliness, among other factors,
improved image-ability in malls.
We therefore attract, shoppers, promote economic
sustainability, and increasingly becoming a good platform
for local, intra-, and inter-regional as well
as international trade.
Malls are proven to be strategic to central economic growth
in terms of GDP in many countries like Dubai,
like South Africa.
In the United States, business and education
alone account for more than 40% of the GDP.
In 2013, retail and wholesale trade
have created additional 12% increase
in the country's GDP growth.
All of this growth is mostly created in the 47,000
malls of the United States.
Again, malls are quickly over the functions
of a public space.
And we know that public space is important for sustainable city
development.
Malls are important thought places.
Thought places are the next most important place
after where we live and work.
Malls attract large crowds and encourage
information dissemination, social networking,
social interaction, and economic redistribution.
This process describes social capital formation,
which is essential for overall community development.
This explains why mall contributes
to social sustainability.
Now, let us narrow our focus.
One would ask, what kind of mall design, location, and operation
promotes sustainability?
Malls are necessary large and they generate
carbon emissions and heat.
It appears to be using mall resources, such as electricity,
water, and chlorofluorocarbons, through extensive use of air
conditioning, heating, and cooling.
However, instead of increasing carbon production,
it may be designed to reduce it through
technical interventions.
If a mall is designed and built using ecological principles
of green buildings, during operations,
use environmental-friendly and other sources,
and have efficient waste management systems.
Sustainability is also promoted when malls discourage
the proliferation of informal activities
that often take place on the roadside
and in sprawling market stalls.
These spaces are not easily managed
because of the diverse stakeholders involved.
Again, malls will enhance sustainability
when its location is in a heterogeneous environment where
there is greater land use mix, where residents pay less
to reach it, and where [INAUDIBLE]
such as fossil fuels are required for transportation.
For instance, in Putrajaya, Malaysia,
the mall studied perform less well in times of patronage
compared to the other one in Bukit Indah
because it is located in a more regional setting
while the other locates in a more heterogeneous setting.
Many residents in Putrajaya are civil servants with two homes
and are in and out of the city.
Suburb locations of malls like Jusco, Bukit Indah,
isolate them from public transportation
and therefore encourage private car use.
This leads to an increase in energy use, which is converted
into environmental pollutants.
While the use of alternative environmentally friendly
energy, such as electricity, is advocated for,
using even a smaller amount of energy
by organizing an efficient retail center
is the whole essence of sustainability.
Operations in the mall contribute to sustainability.
Malls will thrive when operations [? in ?] [? need ?]
are suitable for more types of shoppers.
Empirical observation shows that most shoppers are women.
They prefer malls where their children can play safely
while they shop.
In addition to [INAUDIBLE], cinemas, bowling,
and among other activities which attract young adults that
have less economic power to malls,
provisions of children's activities
is observed to be strategic to malls operation.
Multiple shopping opportunities combined
with multiple types of activities encourage patronage.
This pours economic sustainability
and we increase the long-term vitality of the mall.
Malls can also save space and promote compact city
sustainable development.
The thought point is concerned with the scale of malls.
Research shows that the bigger the mall the better it is.
Not only does a large mall provide opportunities
to assess diversified goods, services, and activities,
it also reduces shopper's cost in terms
of stress, time, and money.
A single trip will satisfy retail, recreation,
and other needs.
Numbers of trips are reduced, therefore reducing
the amount of energy used.
This contributes to environmental sustainability.
Large scale and localization of malls
may also help a city to better plan transportation
options for shopping trips.
The largest shopping malls will encourage
more efficient and effective resource use.
For instance, use of security cameras and personnel
would be effective in a single mall compared
to many smaller and [? scattered ?]
retail buildings.
Because of the large scale and compactness,
waste generated in the mall can also be large.
If the waste collection methods are efficient,
it may encourage industrial recycling.
All together, each and every function
in a diversified large mall could support one another
and allow for its continued existence.
Large malls are those iconic.
They are like monuments of historic significance,
making cities immeasurable and attracting tourists
and economic prosperity.
At this point, it is very important
to [INAUDIBLE] the importance of public transportation system
to mall development against a background of city
sustainability.
The late arrival of the mall after much of the central city
had already being developed is probably
the reason for its location in the suburbs in many developing
countries.
This makes it challenging to integrate
the mall into the city's public transportation system.
Malls will be more sustainable if effectively
integrated into the public transportation system.
Connecting commercial areas with intra- and or intercity
transportation of road, rail, and where possible--
like Putrajaya-- waterways, can improve customer convenience
and reduce pollution making the city more sustainable.
In Malaysia, Jusco Bukit Indah has a better overall assessment
in terms of patronage, diversified activities,
and so on.
But it is less integrated with public transportation compared
to Alamanda mall in Putrajaya.
Though the transportation is better in Alamanda mall,
other important features of a sustainable shopping mall
are still in progress.
In conclusion, for a mall to be sustainable, especially
in Malaysia and other developing countries,
all the factors should be considered together.
Large malls in a well integrated public transportation system
should offer multiple shopping, recreation,
and social activities that are preferred by women--
who are the largest shoppers-- and should
be located in an area where land use are mixed.
The beauty as well as the general environment
should be designed using green building and environmental
principles.
These assure us of a sustainable shopping
mall within the framework of sustainable city development.