Original version

BBC World Service Online

The Documentary

Documentaries

Factual

Investigating global developments, issues and affairs.

The Documentary: It's A Mall World

The Documentary: It's A Mall World: It's a Mall World

Westfield shopping mall, Stratford (credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

30/11/2013 GMT

It's a Mall World

It's A Mall World

BBC World Service - The Documentary, It's A Mall World, It's a Mall World

Be it in Lagos or Rio, how have shopping malls become a fixture in modern life?

Be it in Lagos, Minneapolis or Rio de Janeiro, how have shopping malls become such a permanent fixture in modern life? Why are they so popular?

The first mall was built in 1956 and, since that first notion of an indoor shopping centre where people can eat and relax too, malls have become ever bigger - and elaborate. 
 
Be it in Lagos, Minneapolis or Rio de Janeiro, how have shopping malls become a fixture in modern life? Owners, customers and store workers, explain how the mall's shops, restaurants and cinemas feature in their lives. Cultural observers and retail experts explore how a mall fits into a local area - or not. 
 
Meet Ana Claudia who can barely scrape a living together working at Village Mall in Rio de Janeiro. In Southdale Mall, Minnesota, the shoppers seem carefree buying gadgets and clothes, while in Ikewja City Mall in Lagos, the management are thinking about its security needs in light of the Westgate siege in Kenya.

(Picture: Shopping mall escalators, Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

BBC World Service

Shopping malls have become a permanent feature of modern cities. Mall culture is explored in Brazil, Nigeria and the USA.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Documentary

It's A Mall World

It's a Mall World

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC World Service Online

About BBC World Service