APRIL8,2015

SEMINARREPORT
CONSUMERCULTUREISENDEMICTOIRRATIONALDEVELOPMENTOF
MODERNCITIES

SACHINSAHU
14AR60R11

Change in Consumer Culture is endemic to irrational development of

modern cites
Against the Motion

Consumer Culture (Definition):

It is a form of capitalism in which the economy is focused on the selling of consumer
goods and the spending of consumers money.Consumerism as a social and economic order
and ideology encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-greater amounts
Brief History of Consumerism:
The Industrial Revolution dramatically increased the availability of consumer goods,
although it was still primarily focused on the capital goods sector and industrial
infrastructure. The advent of the department store represented a paradigm shift in the
experience of shopping. For the first time, customers could buy an astonishing variety of
goods, all in one place, and shopping became a popular leisure activity. While
previously the norm had been the scarcity of resources, the Industrial era created an
unprecedented economic situation. For the first time in history products were available
in outstanding quantities, at outstandingly low prices, being thus available to virtually
everyone in the industrialized West.

By the turn of the 20th century the average worker in Western Europe or the United
States still spent approximately 80-90% of his income on food and other necessities.
What was needed to propel consumerism proper, was a system of mass production and
consumption,

It is usually considered that the consumer society was a consequence of the industrial
Revolution, or more specifically the capitalistic pattern of production. The production
patternsof the industrial revolution led to a spread of large quantities of commodities
that was madeaccessible to a larger part of the population than ever before, and can
therefore be said to bethe cause of the revolution in demand. When looking at it from
this point ofview, the rise in consumption can be seen as a cultural response to a
transformation of theeconomy.
The Debate
As per the statement of the topic and concluded in the debate, against the motion can
be stated in two ways:

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That consumer culture is merely not responsible for the irrational development of
modern cities there are others factors such as unemployment, industrialization,
migration etc.

Secondly we can oppose the motion by stating that consumer culture lead to
rational development in cities.

This are the few points in support of the statement that consumer culture
leads to rational development of modern cities.
Consumerism is a characteristics of developed economy ,developed economy
leads to economic empowerment of society, and this lead to development of shopping
complexes, market arcades etc.
The cities morphology has now changed, shoppingmalls, food chains high class
residential apartments, luxury cars are now the identities of urban residents
Urban development within the new global cities is largely dependent on
international real-estate market instead of local demands. New urban projects such as
luxurious residential towers, gigantic shopping malls shape urban form under the
leadership of the globalization. The dominant neoliberal values, more or less, change
local life-style and residents demands; urban spaces arelargely transformed in order to
respond to the new life-style and demands. In this context, local political institutions and
states are also changed radically.
Increasing global interactions generate greater economic opportunities in these
cities. In otherwords, international interactions and forces effectively structure physical
environment in new global cities such as Dubai
Cities and their built environments are produced and product of socio-economic,
political institutions. By changing socio-cultural, political and economic local
mechanisms under the influence of consumerism, the built environment is respectfully
transformed.
The out-of town hypermarket, the shopping mall, and the motorway network have
gained new prominence in urban living, appearing to herald a new placeless city .The
regulated built environment in the global cities as airport terminals which have become
similar to each other around the world. In other words, one of the most significant
influences of globalization on the cities is regulation of built environment particularly in
the new developed areas. New global cities such as Dubai are representative examples
to demonstrate the impacts of consumerism on the built environment and structuring
urban form. Real-estate marketing is the main economic driver in neoliberal model
development of the new global cities. Simultaneously, real estate has become more
deeply commoditized (that is, further separated from its social functions) and valued
more and more for its performance as a financial asset. International investors and

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multinational urban developers beside local elite groups, king and his family in Dubai,
expand urban areas with urban projects as commodities. The maximum financial profit
and low risk of investment is promised for the urban projects such as luxurious
residential complexes and/or gigantic shopping malls. In this context, main target for
commoditized real-estate development is not local demands, but it is international
financial market.

In Indian context new emerging cites such as Bangalore, Hyderabad are

example of development due to consumerism, Gentrification occurred in this cites after
globalization which is typically the result of increased interest of materialistic needs
Public spaces in this new developed cities are mostly designed and established for
business activities such as shopping malls and entertainment centers.Foreigners such
as tourists and people who work for international companies as temporary residents
mostly accommodate and use luxurious facilities instead of local residents or middle
classes which mostly cannot afford high living costs in new urban areas
This global cities illustrate a new trend of urban development in the global era.
The international interactions and forces such as global market as external factors
mostly shape these agglomeration cities instead of internal socioeconomic interactions.

Conclusion
As per the debate and points raised by Viswatej, we can conclude from the
discussion that consumer culture is not solely responsible for the irrational development
of modern cities, there are others factors also such as lack of education, poverty,
population growth, migration, tourism, industrialization and planning process.
Also, apart from irrational development caused by consumer culture ,there are
various positive factors about it as mentioned above.
References
1. Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, Urban Morphology in the 21 century; an agglomeration of
mega urbanprojects
2. Diptajoshi ,Indian cities- Coming of age.
3. Prasidh Raj SINGH, Consumer Culture and Postmodernism
4. Deborah Davis, Urban Consumer culture
5. Transformation of public spaces from modernism to consumerism.

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