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Source: 5 reasons why there is something wrong with the protests in Kudankulam Part:1Ever since a guy named Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi walked on Indian soil, protesting has been the way of life here. While Gandhi protested against the British, we protest against everything. To give you an example, when the Mumbai police recently cracked down on auto guys with tampered meters, THERE WAS A PROTEST AND A STRIKE!I don’t think there can be a more ridiculous protest than that. Or at least I thought, till the Kudankulam protest came along.Honestly, I tried really hard to contemplate the reasons for this protest. But the more I think about it, more I feel there is something majorly wrong.For starters5. WHY PROTEST AGAINST A POWER PLANT, WHEN TAMIL NADU IS A WOEFULLY POWER DEFICIENT STATE.Tamil Nadu, as a state, has never been flush with electricity. During my engineering days, my University was subjected to a daily power-cut of two-three hours. That too, bang in the middle of the blazing afternoon. I used to wonder sometimes, whether this was a cunning plan by the Electricity board to ensure students like me, instead of dozing off in our rooms, attended afternoon classes (The classrooms had generator back-up).Well, the reason was far simpler than that. The power situation, even back then, was dire. This was in 2006.Which was when, Tamil Nadu decided to go for big ticket industrialization.While pitching the whole, ‘Tamil Nadu is an industrial destination’, to the rich people, TN state planners overlooked a very tiny fact of life. That industries need something called, ‘Electricity’.Which explains why, even though new industries were being added at the pace of a Chris Gayle inning, augmenting the state’s creaking electricity generating capacity was totally forgotten. I say creaking, because bulk of Tamil Nadu’s power, needed for the new and the existing industries, still came from its three oldest plants, the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), Tuticorin Power Plant and the nuclear power station at Kalpakkam.The youngest power plant amongst these, The Madras Atomic power station, was established in 1985.In other words, these three areThe AK Hangals of Power GenerationNow, these new TN industries were not your small cute cottage ones, which had miniscule power requirements. They were your big badass ones, like automobiles, electronics, textiles etc etc, the Hummers of the power consumption world. The ones that consumed 100’s of MWs, just to remain idle.The inevitable had to happen.In 2011, when these new industries got ready to roll, TN’s total power requirement jumped to 12,000 MW. As the rulers, had forgotten to add to the state’s existing electricity generation capacity, the total power output, stood at 9000 MW’s.Power Generation in T.N – Power Requiement in T.N = – 3000 MW.You know the state is in trouble, when there is a minus before that figure. Because, it means,TAMIL NADU HAS A POWER DEFICIT OF 3000 MW. There is no power left in Tamil Nadu.You can find details of the apocalyptic power situation in Tamil Nadu, here.Now, to account for that huge deficit in power and balancing the requirements of the industry with that of the aam junta, the electricity guys started something, called the ‘load-shedding activity’.Which meant statewide power cuts for 3-8 hours. Everyday, including bank holidays.Now you know, why your granny can’t watch her favorite afternoon serial. And you have to suffer horrible power cut jokes on your FB/Twitter timeline.Like thisTranslates to, 'When will I get the electricity'Or this oneor this oneTo sum it up, Tamil Nadu today, does not have power and is heading for a complete catastrophe. And the only thing that can save it, is a superhero, whose superpower is to generate unlimited electricity.No, Not this guyThat too immediately.Enter Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.If you did not know, Kudankulam was built with Russian help. And, Russia isn’t exactly known for its subtlety.For the Russians, this is 'A Small Room'So, in true, big badass Russian style, they helped us build a reactor complex, which has four reactors. And when commissioned will generate a total of 10,000 MegaWatts of Power.And of the four, Two are ready.These two reactors, if started, will instantaneously transform Tamil Nadu, from a beggar to a millionaire as far as power is concerned. For the common man, this will mean no more load shedding, no more afternoon TV missings. It will enable the students to rediscover the lost tradition of the afternoon nap. The industry will begin function at peak capacity, finally resulting in the progress and prosperity of Tamil Nadu.And of course, It will once and for all solve the power crisis in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu will never have power cuts ever again.So, Why protest against something that is going to solve the states’ most critical problem?More importantly, Why protest now? When4. THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE KUDANKULAM POWER PLANT STARTED IN, 1988.This is the Kudankulam power plantOne thing is quite clear, IT IS BIG.This is not some small time, illicit kallu sarayam factory that blossomed overnight. They have been building this thing for 24 damn years. Right there, in Kudankulam. Under the very eyes of most of the protestors.For 24 years.Just to give you an idea on how long it has been; the initial survey for the Kudankulam plant was not done by Russia, but by the Soviet Union, whose Premier was Mikhael Gorbachev. When the site was finally decided, Rajiv Gandhi was still alive and was busy kick-backing. And, Sachin Tendulkar was a talented 17 year old who was just pitchforked into the Indian team, before he had played a Ranji Trophy match.My question to the protestors is, what were you doing all this while? Waiting for Sachin to score 100 hundreds?Sure, some people will point out that there were protests against the plant, since 1987. But those were your little protests, protests that happen in India everyday. The meetings where 20-30 old men, armed with conspiracy theories and a lot of time, hold up one placard and call it a protest.If you happened to read that link, the biggest protest against the plant, had a grand total of 150 people.That protest looked something...like thisMore people participated, back in my college, in a protest against the mess food.Today, after 24 years of continuous construction, when the plant is finally complete and ready to go critical, suddenly you have a mob of 20,000 people converging onto this hitherto non-descript village and make a very big fuss. It is as if, these 20,000 people had a simultaneous epiphany regarding the Kudankulam power station.This feeling, occuring simultaneously, in 20,000 pplAnd these guys are so bloody stubborn. Even when Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a man who knows a little bit about nuclear science, personally came down to Kudankulam and assured them on the plant’s safety, they simply refused to budge.Do the protestors know something that Dr Kalam doesn’t? Have they utilized the intervening period of 24 years to do an in-depth study on the plant’s effect on the local eco-system? Do they possess conclusive, scientific proof that Kudankulam is unsafe?Do they have enough data to prove all Indian scientists, starting from Dr Kalam and down, conclusively wrong?Simply put, does the protest have a strong, scientific foundation to it?Turns out3. THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS WHOLE PROTESTWhen you are protesting against a project, which involves a branch of science, that is out of bounds for 99 percent of the scientific community, you need to tick two boxes1. The Guy who is leading the protest should be qualified.2. The arguments that he, which by extension covers the whole protest, is putting forth should be scientifically credible.For item no 1, let us meet the leader of this agitation. A certain gentleman called S P Udayakumar, or as it appears in the media, Dr S P Udayakumar.I give it to him, that he means business when he argues against the plant. And the vehemence he argues, makes Arnab Goswami look like that timid Scooby Doo sidekick, Shaggy. And in today’s world of television, that is all you need to get you the airtime.What our glorious media didn’t do was, verify whether this dude had the standing and the merit to elucidate on this subject. A subject which as I said before, is out of bounds for anybody except the best of the best of the best, scientists. I assume the guys in the studio just saw the prefix Dr, deduced Dr = Knowledgeable man = Rightful leader of the protest, and made him an all India phenomenon.It is not a difficult ask you know, to verify Udayakumar’s merit on this subject. It is not as if they are looking for India’s nuclear launch codes.Turns out, he is not.Dr SP Udayakumar, is a Masters in Literature from Kerala University, and a P.Hd in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.A DOCTORATE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE.India’s biggest nuclear power plant is today being held hostage by a literary arts dude.Mein appki feelings samajh sakti hoon, aap log please Baith Jaiye.How in this Universe, is a political science guy, qualified to lead a protest against a Nuclear power plant? Mind you as a leader, this guy does not stop himself with presenting his outrageous theories about the plant to the innocent villagers. He is also actively blocking, genuine attempts made by the government, to present an accurate picture to the Kudankulam people.According to him, a PH.D in Political Science, knows more about the nittie-gritties of a Nuclear power plant, than someone who is a P.HD in, well, actual science.Checklist Item 1, FAIL.I am not saying, that protests led by people, who do not have the requisite qualifications, are flawed. All I am saying, is that the protest, should have the necessary justification. If Dr Udayakumar feels he is not qualified to do an in-depth scentific study himself, all he had to do was commission some actual scientists. They could undersand the plant, analyze its effects on the local population and submit a full fledged paper.Which brings us to Item no 2 on the checklistWhere is a report/paper/study for Kudankulam, on the basis of which, Dr Udaya Kumar is fighting? A report that provides the scientific justification for the protest.I tried hard to find one that resembled what I mentioned above. After arduous googling, this is what I found, a post written by Dr Udaya Kumar himself, on the perils of Kudankulam.This was, by far, the worst document I have seen in my life, and this includes my own writing. And, that is saying something.First and foremost, the document has absolutely no sources, no citations. Nothing, zilch. I mean, I run a supposedly humorous website, named after a comedy character in a Tamil movie and I cite sources. So how can someone get away without citing any, especially when you consider that fact that he is trying to relocate a nuclear power plant?As for the points in the post, they are so awfully bad, that even a conspiracy theorist will reject them as outrageous.For ExamplePoint no 1: Even when the KKNPP projects function normally without any incidents and accidents, they would be emitting Iodine 131, 132, 133, Cesium 134, 136, 137 isotopes, strontium, tritium, tellurium and other such radioactive particles into our air, land, crops, cattle, sea, seafood and ground water. Already the southern coastal belt is sinking with very high incidence of cancer, mental retardation, down syndrome, defective births due to private and government sea-sand mining for rare minerals including thorium. The KKNPP will add many more woes to our already suffering people.If you didn’t bother to read it, here is the gist. The dude says, because of the radioactive materials leaving the plant and mixing with the water and food, something like this is going to happen in Kudankulam, really really soonNow, this is the city of Mumbai.As you can see, there is a nuclear reactor, right in the middle of the city. A city of 30 Million people.And last known, they have not transformed into some version of The Incredible Hulk meets the Godzilla. Which means, people of Kudankulam and the nearby villages are safe from the ‘monster’ that is the Kudankulam power plant.And if you think in case of a disaster, the whole area will be wiped out and thousands will die, then well you are wrong.The total number of fatalities, directly or indirectly, due to a Nuclear power plant meltdown, from 1960-2011, across the globe, is FIFTY.YES, 50 IN ALL. AND THIS INCLUDES CHERNOBYL AND FUKUSHIMA.http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf06app.htmlHell, the probability of Kudankulam people, getting killed after being run over by a bicycle, is higher.Another onePoint no 3: More than 1 million people live within the 30 km radius of the KKNPP which far exceeds the AERB (Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) stipulations. It is quite impossible to evacuate this many people quickly and efficiently in case of a nuclear disaster at Koodankulam.This is the map in and around the Koodankulam power plant, with a radius of 40 kms in all directions. 10 Kms more than what Dr Udayakumar has considered.Now, the Kudankulam power plant, is flanked by three major sub-districts.To the North is Radhapuram sub-district ,which includes the Koodankulam power plant itself. Total Population: 2, 64, 595To the West is Agastheeswaram sub-district, Total Population: 4, 93, 852. Now the two major population centres in this sub-district, cities of Kaniyakumari and Nagerkoil, are more than 50 Kms away from the plant.Take them out, the figure falls down to, 1,29, 371.To the east is Sathankulam sub-district. Total population: 96, 820.Total population, of the area as specified by Dr Udaya kumar + 10 Kms: 4, 90, 786Only 5,00,000 short of the Million people as claimed by Udayakumar.This dude, to get his point across, has straight up doubled the population of the nearby areas. And in some interviews, he is even quoting the population as 1.5 million.This guy, simply put, exaggerating the local population numbers to Bibilical proportions.Finally, the population of the village of Koodankulam: 11, 029. In his quest for some grandiose statistic, he forgot this one.FinallyPoint 6: The quality of construction and the pipe work and the overall integrity of the KKNPP structures have been called into question by the very workers and contractors who work there in Koodankulam. There have been international concerns about the design, structure and workings of the untested Russian-made VVER-1000 reactors.The Chinese have been building a power plant with Russian help, equipped with the same VVER-1000 Nuclear reactor.A short while ago, this very reactor was declared as the safest nuclear reactor in the world. That too not by some literary arts dude like Dr Udaya kumar, but by the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA). You know the global agency responsible for the safety of Nuclear power plants.THE GUY’S WHOSE JOB IS TO SUPERVISE NUCLEAR REACTORS ACROSS THE WORLD, CALL THE VVER-1000, THE SAFEST REACTOR IN THE WHOLE WORLD.NEED I SAY MORE?For me, the whole post reads as if the Kudankulam Power plant is the harbinger of apocalypse for the state of Tamil Nadu and India in general. That too in the ‘I Say So, So it must be true’ mode of argument.I really wanted to fisk the whole thing, but these three points prove what I set ou to proveWhatever this guy is saying is total tosh.Which means there is absolutely no scientific basis for this protest.Checklist Item no 2: BIG FAILBefore somebody says, let me admit that I am not a nuclear physicist or a scientist. There is this comprehensive government report which counters every argument of this dude.BTW, DR Udaya Kumar, if by any chance you happen to read this, please tell me why do you keep asking the government for white papers, black papers, etc etc to prove Kudankulam is safe. Isn’t is bloody time you give a document like the one above to prove why Kudankulam is unsfe?So to sum it up, the reasons for the protests are dodgy, the timing is skeptical and there is not even a tiny thread of rationality behind it. So why protest at all?Unless of course2. THE WHOLE SHEBANG IS BEING RIGGEDGenerally the Prime Minister open his mouth rarely and speaks even less. And whenever he or for that matter, any of his ministers speak, this is how most of us reactAnd our reactions were more or less similar, when our Prime Minister went back to the 1980’s vintage, ‘Foreign Hand’ theory when he railed against the Kudankulam protest.This time however, for a change, he made sense.The story actually begins in 1974. The year in which Indira Gandhi decided, that India needed some nuke bombs.Let us say the US was as benevolent towards India after that nuclear test, as US today is towards Iran.In line with the US policy of benevolence, India was slapped with a trade embargo, which among other things, prevented us from getting something called, Uranium. And without the Uranium, the entire nuclear infrastructure in the country at that time, went into panic mode. The reactors were scaled down and the power generation was cut, because we did not have sufficient fuel.Because India refused to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, no Uranium rich, decadent western country, was willing to sell Uranium to us. According to them, If India ever gets Uranium, she will peddle it to the first crackpot dictator who wants to build a bomb.Pictured: Crackpot DictatorIndia was effectively placed in a quarantine, and denied access to anything that was remotely related to ‘Nuclear’The status-quo continued till 2008, when George W Bush arrived in India.Amidst all the despicable things George.H.W.Bush has inflicted on this world, he has to get credit for one thing.He was the only guy who got Manmohan Singh to talk. In fact ‘Dubya’ Bush is singularly responsible for Manmohan, speaking up for something, that does not have the word ‘Gandhi’ in it.Google image search result for 'Manmohan Singh Speaking' before 2008If you are wondering If I am making that up, here is a clue, do the words INDO-US NUCLEAR DEAL mean anything to you?Well, for Manmohan Singh, it meant a lot. Hell, it meant so much that, MMS flipped the normal protocol of ‘Madam Tell, Me Follow’, upside down. And he allowed a India, a brief glimpse of a part of his anatomy, that is called the spine. For the first and the last time as a P.M, he opposed a major coalition partner, stood his ground and got something done.MMS single-handedly ended, for good, India’s three decade long nuclear isolation.But, there are no free lunches in the capitalist world.When the US guys told us they will take care of that NPT thingy and get us all the Uranium we need, as a quid pro pro, they demanded a major slice in the Indian nuclear power pizza. In fact they wanted the whole pizza. You see, the whole point of this generous nuclear deal, was to ensure the US derives the maximum economic benefit out of our inevitable nuclear boom.And a major hurdle in the quest for that pizza.KudankulamYou see, the reactors used to generate electricity in Kudankulam, the aforementioned VVER-1000 reactors, are a direct competitor to General Electric’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor. And if the VVER-1000 is successful, India might opt for more of these reactors to satiate her power demands, which are projected to go North.And if that happens, the US would become the guy, who did everything possible to impress a girl, only to see a direct competitor walking away with the credit and the girl on the first date.Just think about it, the other Nuclear project announced after the deal was signed, was Jaitapur. And it was a French one. And guess what is happening there,In short, USA has every reason, to pray for the failure of Kudankulam. Because, if it is successful, they have the most to lose.After the PM’s accusation in that Science Magazine interview, the Home Ministry, moved quickly to freeze the accounts of four NGO’s, Tuticorin Diocese Association (TDA), Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS), People’s Education for Action and Liberation and Good Vision trust.According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, they were misdirecting the funds meant for social work, to fund a political protest. Which is explicitly stated as wrong,The ministry of home affairs, has an amazing web-page. They list all the transactions made by the NGO’s who receive more than one crore a year.Here is the 2010-2011 account statement of the Tuticorin Multipurpose Social Service Society (TMSSS).If you notice, the maximum money, has been spent, in activities, mysteriously classified as ‘Others’. No explanation has been given on what those activites constitute. Now, this particluar NGO has received more than Rs 42 crores in foreign donations, over the last five years.But, they don’t even have a website of their own. A website where they can publish detailed accounts of what they are doing with all the money. Introduce some modicum of transparency. Now, why is that?Similiarly, the other NGO, the Tuticorin Diocese Association, received 22 crores in the same period. And they too, do not have a website, or a statement.So, this mysterious money trail leads to a dead end. But that is not the only problem. On 6th of February, the Home ministry stated, that these very NGO’s received 54 crores from sources abroad.Now, with a very minimum knowledge of economics, I think Rs 54 crores is quite a lot of money. And, according to the Home Ministry, they do not have the accounts to show for it. And no person from these two NGO’s has come out and given a convincing reply to the Home Ministry’s accusation.In fact two NGO’s in question, are headed by the same guy, one Bishop Yvon Ambroise. And, since the day the report was published in the Hindu, this person has gone underground. I mean, if you are so honest about your financials, why this mysterious silence?Similiarly, the home ministry also alleges that, DR Udayakumar, received Rs 1.5 crores of cash, in his account,to fund this agitation. In typical, Udayakumar style, he countered it aggressively, even invoking capital punishment in his defence. And, his NGO, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) released its own account statement, to prove its innocence. This what they saidTotal fund collection: Rs 25, 17,991. Collected Rs 200 from every household in Idinthakarai with additional help coming from Fishermen, beedi workers etc etc, who contributed 10 percent of their earnings.Total expenditure: Rs 17,64,233. Spent on hiring transport, diesel genset, marquees, and supply of water to the people who congregate at the protest fast venue.As usual, no specifics have been given. Also, they do not have a website where they can publish a detailed report. And, our media as is the norm, didn’t bother to verify this statement.Turns out, the village of Idinthakarai has a total population of 3996. Assuming 3 members per household, total households in that village: 1332.Going by Udayakumar’s assertion and assuming every household contributed, the total amount collected comes to: Rs 2, 66, 400.Where did you get the rest of the money, i.e Rs 22, 51 ,591, from Dr Udaya Kumar? Are you telling us that the fishermen and beedi workers from Kudankulam contributed this amount??Or is the Prime Minister right, when he says, Foreign money is at play?Paying protestors to campaign against a venture by your competitor, is an old tactic in India. Every industrialist, worth his or her salt, has done it at some point of time in his/her life.But in this case, I am unduly worried, because this protest has taken a direction, a direction that does not augur well for the security of our country1. THE WHOLE PROTEST IS BEING RELIGIOUSLY MOTIVATEDRemember the Bishop Ambroise in the previous para. Well, he is on record, with his opposition to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant. Now this person is not some layman voicing his views on this subject. He is a bishop, a very senior guy in the hierarchy of the church.Why is a representative of the church, that too a Bishop, actively taking part in the protest?There is not even the usual excuse that he is acting out of his own free will. The Roman Catholic Church is an organization that is proud of its command chain. No church member, I believe, can act independently without the sanction of someone from above. And when guy leading this protest is a senior functionary in the church, it can mean only one thingThe Anti-Kudankulam protest, has the blessing, from the highest levels of the Church hierarchy.Now, the church, preferred to stay silent for the entire duration of the first and the second world wars. Hell, this is an organization which did not speak up, when Nazis were carrying out the world’s most brutal elimination program. Even when they knew about it.So, why, is it taking a pro-active interest in a nittie-gritties of a Nuclear Power Plant, somewhere down in South India?The involvement of the church cannot be dismissed lightly. In rural Tamil Nadu, for most of the villagers, the voice of reason happens to be the local Parish priest. And all the Parish priests, in and around Kudankulam are heavily against the establishment of the power plant. And they are making no bones about their stand on this issue. And they don’t even have a choice. The person on top of them in the hierarchy, has made his stand very clear.When a priest, in his Sunday mass and service, exhorts the villagers to join the protest, what is it that they are going to do?As a result, most of the people in and around Kudankulam are joining the protests, not because they believe in the cause. They are turning up, because their priest asked them to. And they are admitting it openly.This means, what was supposed to be a peaceful public protest, has, as the Indian Express put it brilliantly, been hijacked by the local diocese and the church. And that is not a good sign.Not for a country, that calls itself secular.The only thing that has irked me more than this shameless religious takeover of the movement, is our mainstream media’s turning a Nelson’s eye towards it. If it did not, then why aren’t there more damning articles, like this one, on the role of the Church in the Kudankulam agitation?Why this thing is not the ‘BURNING QUESTION’ on TIMES NOW? WHY IS IT NOT ON ‘FACE THE NATION’?And finally, where is this guy?Figure it out yourselfI mean, when people from the RSS, a Hindu group with no connection to the inner sanctum of Hindu religion, went and participated in a public movement, this dude wasted no time in painting the entire movement with a saffron brush. According to him, ‘Communal forces’ were attempting to use the ‘Platform’ of a ‘Public Movement’ to ‘threaten the social fabric of the country’. Or some nonsense like that.But here, people who are high up in the Church hierarchy, representing the church, are actively aiding and abetting this unreasonable protest,So, why the eff is this guy quiet? Why the hell is everybody quiet?Unfortunately, I do not have answers to these questions.On a side note: I am not too sure of this thing’s relevance to the article but thought you should know. While looking up Bishop Yvon Ambroise, I stumbled onto this. There is even a nice letter, written to the Vatican, complaining about atrocities, illegalities, arrogance and ignorance of the bishop. Do read it

Wikipedia gives you a more detailed answer, but I can tell ya, the Automobile has done a lot to transform how we shop. Finding a place to park has been a problem ever since the first auto hit the streets which were nothing but horse and buggy trails. Down town business suffered for lack of parking, so the answer was..”shopping malls”. I lived in a small town in Brooksville Fl, and they had a monthly historical magazine that showed Brooksville’s past. On a Saturday, most folk would ride into town and do their shopping at A&P, get an ice cream, or watch a movie. Then one day a store called “Winn Dixie” opened up on a piece of cheap land just outside of this little burg, (sound familiar? it should, thats what wal mart did) and the cars started moving and parking in the Winn Dixie parking lot just out side of town. Now, if your a savvy business owner, your gonna be thinking about getting an edge on your competition and maybe move your business right next to this new store and take the down town vehicle traffic with you to this new parking lot. Thus the term “anchor store” was borne. Well, one thing led to another and pretty soon down town Brooksville died out, and the A&P closed. Remember that term “anchor store”? Well, it didn't take too long for “land developers” to come up with a strategy to acquire big swaths of land, entice big retailers to locate to their facility and provide a park like atmosphere for shoppers to enjoy a day at the “park” and spend loads of $$ in a controlled artificial environment. But, it wasn't just the retail institutions that had to change their business model as a result of the automobile, it was the “Fast food” chains, Banking Chains, “dry Cleaning Chains”. Everything became “drive thru”. Malls are there because people like convenience. In fact, people love the idea of convenience soooo much, that this very thing that gave rise to these spread out malls will now kill them. After all, who in their right mind wants to deal with traffic at the mall when ya can now shop from home and buy stuff from Amazon, eBay, Wayfair? And don't forget, if yer hungry, the hell with the drive thru..Just call “Grub Hub”. The true irony is, that this very convenience which is basically laziness will kill most of in the end. We will die out just like downtown and the malls…Shopping mallFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to search"Shopping center" redirects here. For smaller streetside shopping locations, see Strip mall.Westfield Garden State Plaza is a mall in Paramus, New Jersey.Westfarms Mall is a mall in West Hartford, Connecticut.The interior of the Aviapark in Moscow, Russia.The interior of the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.A shopping mall is a modern, chiefly North American, term for a form of shopping precinct or shopping center in which one or more buildings form a complex of shops with interconnecting walkways, usually indoors. In 2017, shopping malls accounted for 8% of retailing space in the United States.[1]A shopping arcade is a type of shopping precinct that developed earlier and in which the connecting walkways are not owned by a single proprietor and may be in the open air or covered by a ground-floor loggia. Many early shopping arcades such as the Burlington Arcade in London, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, and numerous arcades in Paris are famous and still trading. However, many smaller arcades have been demolished, replaced with large centers or malls, often accessible primarily by vehicle.Technical innovations such as electric lighting and escalators were introduced from the late 19th century. From the late 20th century, entertainment venues such as movie theaters and restaurants began to be added.[2][3]As a single built structure, early shopping centers were often architecturally significant constructions, enabling wealthier patrons to buy goods in spaces protected from the weather.Contents1Regional differences2History2.1Twentieth-century developments2.2Suburban versions2.3Increasing size3Types3.1Neighborhood center3.2Community mall3.3Regional center3.4Superregional center3.5Fashion/specialty center3.6Power center3.7Theme/festival center3.8Outlet center4Components4.1Food court4.2Department stores4.3Stand-alone stores5Dead malls6New trends6.1Vertical malls6.2Online shopping influence7Shopping property management firms8Legal issues9Gallery9.1World's largest shopping malls/centers10See also11References12Further reading13External linksExpress Avenue Chennai, IndiaIn places around the world, the term shopping centre is used, especially in Europe, Australia, and South America. Mall is a term used predominantly in North America.[4]Outside of North America, "shopping precinct" and "shopping arcade" are also used. In North America, Persian Gulf countries, and India, the term shopping mall is usually applied to enclosed retail structures (and is generally abbreviated to simply mall), while shopping centre usually refers to open-air retail complexes; both types of facilities usually have large parking lots, face major traffic arterials, and have few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighbourhoods.[4]Shopping arcade in Tokyo, JapanRobinsons Place Manila in Manila, PhilippinesIn the United Kingdom and Ireland, "malls" are commonly referred to as shopping centres. Mall primarily refers to either a shopping mall – a place where a collection of shops all adjoin a pedestrian area – or an exclusively pedestrianized street that allows shoppers to walk without interference from vehicle traffic. In North America, mall is generally used to refer to a large shopping area usually composed of a single building which contains multiple shops, usually "anchored" by one or more department stores surrounded by a parking lot, while the term "arcade" is more often used, especially in the United Kingdom, to refer to a narrow pedestrian-only street, often covered or between closely spaced buildings (see town centre).The majority of British shopping centres are located in city centres, usually found in old and historic shopping districts and surrounded by subsidiary open air shopping streets. Large examples include West Quay in Southampton; Manchester Arndale; Bullring Birmingham; Liverpool One; Trinity Leeds; Buchanan Galleries in Glasgow; and Eldon Square in Newcastle upon Tyne. In addition to the inner city shopping centres, large UK conurbations will also have large out-of-town "regional malls" such as the Metrocentre in Gateshead; Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield serving South Yorkshire; the Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester; White Rose Centre in Leeds; the Merry Hill Centre near Dudley; and Bluewater in Kent. These centres were built in the 1980s and 1990s, but planning regulations prohibit the construction of any more. Out-of-town shopping developments in the UK are now focused on retail parks, which consist of groups of warehouse style shops with individual entrances from outdoors. Planning policy prioritizes the development of existing town centres, although with patchy success. Westfield Stratford City, in Stratford (London), is the largest shopping centre in Europe with over 330 shops, 50 restaurants and an 11 screen cinema and Westfield London is the largest inner-city shopping center in Europe. Bullring, Birmingham is the busiest shopping centre in the UK welcoming over 36.5 million shoppers in its opening year.[5]There are a reported 222 malls in Europe. In 2014, these malls had combined sales of $12.47 billion.[6]This represented a 10% bump in revenues from the prior year.[6]The headquarters of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the global trade association of the shopping center industry, are located in 1221 Avenue of the Americas (the middle tower pictured) in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.Cabot Circus in Bristol city centre, United KingdomHongyuan outdoor mall in ShanghaiOne of the earliest examples of public shopping areas comes from ancient Rome, in forums where shopping markets were located. One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajan's Market in Rome located in Trajan's Forum. Trajan's Market was probably built around 100-110 CE by Apollodorus of Damascus, and it is thought to be the world's oldest shopping center – a forerunner of today's shopping mall.[7]The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in the 15th century and is still one of the largest covered shopping centers in the world, with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops. Numerous other covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, might also be considered as precursors to the present-day shopping mall.[8]Isfahan's Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century. The 10-kilometer-long, covered Tehran's Grand Bazaar also has a lengthy history. The oldest continuously occupied shopping mall in the world is likely to be the Chester Rows. Dating back at least to the 13th century, these covered walkways housed shops, with storage and accommodation for traders on various levels. Different rows specialized in different goods, such as 'Bakers Row' or 'Fleshmongers Row'.[9]Gostiny Dvor in St. Petersburg, which opened in 1785, may be regarded as one of the first purposely-built mall-type shopping complexes, as it consisted of more than 100 shops covering an area of over 53,000 m2(570,000 sq ft).The Marché des Enfants Rouges in Paris opened in 1628 and still runs today. The Oxford Covered Market in Oxford, England opened in 1774 and still runs today.The Passage du Caire was opened in Paris in 1798.[10]The Burlington Arcade in London was opened in 1819. The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island introduced the retail arcade concept to the United States in 1828 and is arguably the oldest "shopping mall" in the country.[11]The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy followed in the 1870s and is closer to large modern malls in spaciousness. Other large cities created arcades and shopping centers in the late 19th century and early 20th century, including the Cleveland Arcade, and Moscow's GUM, which opened in 1890. When the Cleveland Arcade opened in 1890, it was among the first indoor shopping arcades in the US, and like its European counterparts, was an architectural triumph. Two sides of the arcade had 1,600 panes of glass set in iron framing and is a prime example of Victorian architecture. Sydney's Queen Victoria Markets Building, opened in 1898, was also an ambitious architectural project.In the mid-20th century, with the rise of the suburb and automobile culture in the United States, a new style of shopping center was created away from downtown.[12]Early shopping centers designed for the automobile include Market Square, Lake Forest, Illinois (1916), and Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri (1924). From early on, the design tended to be inward-facing, with malls following theories of how customers could best be enticed in a controlled environment. Similar, the concept of a mall having one or more "anchor stores" or "big box stores" was pioneered early, with individual stores or smaller-scale chain stores intended to benefit from the shoppers attracted by the big stores.[13]Mall construction in America was encouraged by the accelerated depreciation laws of 1954, which incentivized greenfield development on the urban fringe. A second stimulus came from legislation passed in 1960, which allowed investors to band together in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) to avoid corporate income taxes. The laws helped to shape the familiar exurbanlandscape of malls, motels, and fast food chains.[14]In the 1970s in Canada, the Ontario government created the Ontario Downtown Renewal Programme, which helped finance the building of several downtown malls across Ontario such as Eaton Centre. The program was created to reverse the tide of small business leaving downtowns for larger sites surrounding the city. In the first quarter of 2012 shopping mall private investment hit an all-time low under 0.1 percent.[15]Dayton Arcade in the United States, was built between 1902 and 1904 and Lake View Store at Morgan Park, Duluth, Minnesota, built in 1915, held its grand opening on July 20, 1916. The architect was Dean and Dean from Chicago and the building contractor was George H. Lounsberry from Duluth. The early shopping center in the United States took shape at the Grandview Avenue Shopping Center (the "Bank Block") in Grandview Heights, Ohio in 1928, the first regional shopping center in America that integrated parking into the design. This general plan by Don Monroe Casto Sr. became the prototype of shopping centers for several decades.[16]Other important shopping centers built in the 1920s and early 1930s include Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, the Highland Park Village in Dallas, Texas; River Oaks in Houston, Texas; and the Park and Shop in Washington, D.C..Lifestyle center located in Woodbury, MinnesotaThe suburban shopping center concept evolved further in the United States after World War II. Bellevue Shopping Square (now known as Bellevue Square) opened in 1946 in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. Town & Country Village also opened in 1946 in Sacramento, California.[17]Then came the Broadway-Crenshaw Center (known today as the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza), which was dedicated, in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles on November 10, 1947 as the first major shopping mall on the West Coast. Three more suburban shopping centers were completed in 1949. Town and Country Drive-In Shopping Center (Town and Country Shopping Center), in Whitehall, Ohio was a strip-type complex erected in the environs of Columbus, Ohio. Park Forest, Illinois' Park Forest Plaza (Park Forest Downtown) was built along the lines of a cluster-type complex. It was situated in the southern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Cameron Village contained a shopping center as part of a planned community in what was then the outskirts of Raleigh, NC.In April 1950, the suburban shopping mall came into being with the opening of Seattle's Northgate Center (now known as Northgate Mall). This was followed by Lakewood Center (1951), in Lakewood, California; Shoppers' World (1951), in Framingham, Massachusetts;[18]Stonestown Center (now Stonestown Galleria) (1952) in San Francisco, California; and Northland Center (1954), in Southfield, Michigan. Open-air-type malls were also built in Canada and Australia. Don Mills Convenience Centre (now Shops at Don Mills) opened in 1955, in Toronto, Ontario. Chermside Drive-In Shopping Centre started trading to the public in 1957, in Brisbane, Australia.The fully enclosed shopping mall did not appear until the mid-1950s. One of the earliest examples was the Valley Fair Shopping Center in Appleton, Wisconsin,[19]which opened in March 1955. Valley Fair featured a number of modern features including a large parking area, anchor stores, and restaurants. The idea of a regionally-sized, fully enclosed shopping complex was pioneered in 1956 by the Austrian-born architect and American immigrant Victor Gruen.[20]This new generation of regional-size shopping centers began with the Gruen-designed Southdale Center, which opened in the Twin Cities suburb of Edina, Minnesota, United States in October 1956. For pioneering the soon-to-be enormously popular mall concept in this form, Gruen has been called the "most influential architect of the twentieth century" by Malcolm Gladwell.[21]The first retail complex to be promoted as a "mall" was Paramus, New Jersey's Bergen Mall. The center, which opened with an open-air format in 1957, was enclosed in 1973. Aside from Southdale Center, significant early enclosed shopping malls were Harundale Mall (1958), in Glen Burnie, Maryland, Big Town Mall(1959), in Mesquite, Texas, Chris-Town Mall (1961), in Phoenix, Arizona, and Randhurst Center (1962), in Mount Prospect, Illinois.The world's first enclosed shopping mall was opened in Luleå, in northern Sweden in 1955 (architect: Ralph Erskine) and was named Shopping; the region now claims the highest shopping center density in Europe.[22]The first fully enclosed shopping mall in Canada was Wellington Square. It was designed for Eaton's by John Graham, Jr. as an enclosed mall with a department store anchor and subterranean parking which opened in downtown London, Ontario, on August 11, 1960. After several renovations, it remains open today as Citi Plaza.[23]Other early malls moved retailing away from the dense, commercial downtowns into the largely residential suburbs. This formula (enclosed space with stores attached, away from downtown, and accessible only by automobile) became a popular way to build retail across the world. Gruen himself came to abhor this effect of his new design; he decried the creation of enormous "land wasting seas of parking" and the spread of suburban sprawl.[13][24]In the UK, Chrisp Street Market was the first pedestrian shopping area built with a road at the shop fronts. The first mall-type shopping precinct in Great Britain was built in the downtown area of Birmingham. Known as Bull Ring Centre (now Bull Ring, Birmingham), it was officially dedicated in May 1964. A notable example is the Halton Lea Shopping Centre (originally known as Shopping City) in Runcorn, which opened in 1972 and was conceived as the center point for the new town's development. Another early example is the Brent Cross Centre, Britain's first out-of-town shopping mall and located on the northern outskirts of London, which was opened in March 1976.In the United States, developers such as A. Alfred Taubman of Taubman Centers extended the concept further in 1980, with terrazzo tiles at the Mall at Short Hillsin New Jersey, indoor fountains, and two levels allowing a shopper to make a circuit of all the stores. Taubman believed carpeting increased friction, slowing down customers, so it was removed. Fading daylight through glass panels was supplemented by gradually increased electric lighting, making it seem like the afternoon was lasting longer, which encouraged shoppers to linger.[25][26]Main article: List of largest shopping malls in the worldThe former Camp SnoopyAmusement park before it was Nickelodeon Universe at the center of the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, the largest shopping mall in the United StatesThe size of shopping centers and malls continued to increase throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. With approximately 2,400,000 sq ft (220,000 m2), the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii was one of the largest malls in the United States when it opened for business in August 1959. The Outlets at Bergen Town Center, the oldest enclosed mall in New Jersey, opened in Paramus on November 14, 1957, with Dave Garroway, host of The Today Show, serving as master of ceremonies.[27]The mall, located just outside New York City, was planned in 1955 by Allied Stores to have 100 stores and 8,600 parking spaces in a 1,500,000 sq ft (140,000 m2) mall that would include a 300,000 sq ft (28,000 m2) Stern's store and two other 150,000 sq ft (14,000 m2) department stores as part of the design. Allied's chairman B. Earl Puckett confidently announced The Outlets at Bergen Town Center as the largest of ten proposed centers, stating that there were 25 cities that could support such centers and that no more than 50 malls of this type would ever be built nationwide.[28][29]The largest enclosed shopping mall from 1986 to 2004 was the 350,000 m2(3,800,000 sq ft) West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.[30]Currently, the largest mall in the world is the New South China Mall in Dongguan, China with a gross floor area of 892,000 m2(9,600,000 sq ft). The world's second-largest shopping mall is the Golden Resources Mall in Beijing, China with a gross floor area of 680,000 m2(7,300,000 sq ft). SM Megamall in the Philippines, is the world's third-largest at 542,980 m2(5,844,600 sq ft) of gross floor area. The fourth largest shopping mall in the world is SM City North EDSA in Quezon City, Philippines with a gross floor area of 504,900 m2(5,435,000 sq ft) and the fifth largest shopping mall is 1 Utama in Malaysia at 465,000 m2(5,010,000 sq ft) of gross floor area.The most visited shopping mall in the world and largest mall in the United States is the Mall of America, located near the Twin Cities in Bloomington, Minnesota. However, several Asian malls are advertised as having more visitors, including Mal Taman Anggrek, Kelapa Gading Mall and Pluit Village, all in Jakarta, Indonesia; Berjaya Times Square in Malaysia; SM City North EDSA, SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall, all in Metro Manila, Philippines. The largest mall in South Asia is Lucky One Mall in Karachi, Pakistan.Philippines has the most number of shopping malls in the top 100 largest shopping malls in the world with 22.The International Council of Shopping Centers classifies shopping malls into eight basic types: neighborhood center, community center, regional center, superregional center, fashion/specialty center, power center, theme/festival center, and outlet center.[31]These definitions, published in 1999, were not restricted to shopping centers in any particular country, but later editions were made specific to the US with a separate set for Europe.Main article: Strip mallA neighborhood center in the form of a strip mall, in Cornelius, OregonNeighborhood centers are small-scale malls serving the local neighborhood. They typically have a supermarket or a drugstore as an anchor, and are commonly arranged in a strip mall format. Neighborhood centers usually have a retail area of 30,000 to 150,000 square feet (2,800 to 13,900 m2), and serve a primary area in a 3-mile (4.8 km) radius.[31]They are sometimes known as convenience centers.Community malls are larger than neighborhood centers, and offer a wider range of goods. They usually feature two anchor stores which are larger than that of a neighborhood center's, e.g. a discount department store. They may also follow a strip configuration, or may be L- or U-shaped. Community centers usually feature a retail area of 100,000 to 350,000 square feet (9,300 to 32,500 m2) and serve a primary area of 3 to 6 miles (4.8 to 9.7 km).[31]RioMar Shopping in Recife, Brazil, with a gross leasable area of 101,000 m2(1,090,000 sq ft)[32]A regional mall is, per the International Council of Shopping Centers, in the United States, a shopping mall which is designed to service a larger area than a conventional shopping mall. As such, it is typically larger with 400,000 sq ft (37,000 m2) to 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) gross leasable area with at least two anchor stores and offers a wider selection of stores. Given their wider service area, these malls tend to have higher-end stores that need a larger area in order for their services to be profitable but may have discount department stores. Regional malls are also found as tourist attractions in vacation areas.[33]Westfield Carousel, in a suburb of Perth, Australia, with a gross leasable area of 82,874 m2(892,050 sq ft)A super regional mall is, per the International Council of Shopping Centers, in the US a shopping mall with over 800,000 sq ft (74,000 m2) of gross leasable area, three or more anchors, mass merchant, more variety, fashion apparel, and serves as the dominant shopping venue for the region (25 miles or 40 km) in which it is located.[33]Fashion or specialty centers feature apparel shops and boutiques and cater to customers with higher incomes. They usually have a retail area ranging from 80,000 to 250,000 square feet (7,400 to 23,200 m2) and serve an area of 5 to 15 miles (8.0 to 24.1 km).[31]Main article: Retail parkPower centers are small shopping centers that almost exclusively feature several big-box retailers as their anchors. They usually have a retail area of 250,000 to 600,000 square feet (23,000 to 56,000 m2) and a primary trade area of 5 to 10 miles (8.0 to 16.1 km).[31]Terminal 21 in BangkokTheme or festival centers have distinct unifying themes that are followed by their individual shops as well as their architecture. They are usually located in urban areas and cater to tourists. They typically feature a retail area of 80,000 to 250,000 square feet (7,400 to 23,200 m2).[31]Main article: Outlet storeAn outlet mall (or outlet center) is a type of shopping mall in which manufacturers sell their products directly to the public through their own stores. Other stores in outlet malls are operated by retailers selling returned goods and discontinued products, often at heavily reduced prices. Outlet stores were found as early as 1936, but the first multi-store outlet mall, Vanity Fair, located in Reading, PA did not open until 1974. Belz Enterprises opened the first enclosed factory outlet mall in 1979, in Lakeland, TN, a suburb of Memphis.[34]The layout of a mid-sized shopping center Babilonas in Panevėžys, Lithuania (with main stores marked in text).Main article: Food courtA common feature of shopping malls is a food court: this typically consists of a number of fast food vendors of various types, surrounding a shared seating area.Main articles: Department store and Anchor storeWhen the shopping mall format was developed by Victor Gruen in the mid-1950s, signing larger department stores was necessary for the financial stability of the projects, and to draw retail traffic that would result in visits to the smaller stores in the mall as well. These larger stores are termed anchor store or draw tenant. In physical configuration, anchor stores are normally located as far from each other as possible to maximize the amount of traffic from one anchor to another.[citation needed]Frequently, a shopping mall or shopping center will have satellite buildings located either on the same tract of land or on one abutting it, on which will be located stand-alone stores, which may or may not be legally connected to the central facility through contract or ownership. These stores may have their own parking lots, or their lots may interconnect with those of the mall or center. The existence of the stand-alone store may have been planned by the mall's developer, or may have come about through opportunistic actions by others, but visually the central facility – the mall or shopping center – and the satellite buildings will often be perceived as being a single "unit", even in circumstances where the outlying buildings are not officially or legally connected to the mall in any way.[citation needed]Main article: Dead mallBelz Factory Outlet Mall, an abandoned shopping mall in Allen, Texas, United StatesIn the United States, in the mid-1990s, malls were still being constructed at a rate of 140 a year.[35]But in 2001, a PricewaterhouseCoopers study found that underperforming and vacant malls, known as "greyfield" and "dead mall" estates, were an emerging problem. In 2007, a year before the Great Recession, no new malls were built in America, for the first time in 50 years.[36]City Creek Center Mall in Salt Lake City, which opened in March 2012, was the first to be built since the recession.[14]In recent years, the number of dead malls increased significantly in the early twenty first century because the economic health of malls across the United States has been in decline, with high vacancy rates in these malls. From 2006 to 2010, the percentage of malls that are considered to be "dying" by real estate experts (have a vacancy rate of at least 40%), unhealthy (20–40%), or in trouble (10–20%) all increased greatly, and these high vacancy rates only partially decreased from 2010 to 2014.[37]In 2014, nearly 3% of all malls in the United States were considered to be "dying" (40% or higher vacancy rates) and nearly one-fifth of all malls had vacancy rates considered "troubling" (10% or higher). Some real estate experts say the "fundamental problem" is a glut of malls in many parts of the country creating a market that is "extremely over-retailed".[37]In parts of Canada, it is now rare for new shopping malls to be built. The Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre, opened in 2004, Crossiron Mills, opened in 2009, and Tsawwassen Mills Mall in 2016, are the only malls built in Canada since 1992. Outdoor outlet malls or big box shopping areas known as power centers are now favored, although the traditional enclosed shopping mall is still in demand by those seeking weather-protected, all-under-one-roof shopping. In addition, the enclosed interconnections between downtown multi story shopping malls continue to grow in the Underground city of Montreal (32 kilometres of passageway),[38]the PATH system of Toronto (27 km (17 mi) of passageway)[39]and the Plus15 system of Calgary (16 km (9.9 mi) of overhead passageway).[40]In Russia, on the other hand, as of 2013 a large number of new malls had been built near major cities, notably the MEGA malls such as Mega Belaya Dacha mall near Moscow. In large part they were financed by international investors and were popular with shoppers from the emerging middle class.[41]In the United States, owners are making drastic moves to convert struggling malls. This includes converting malls into apartments, offices and industrial space. Other owners have taken the approach to turning large chunks of malls into parks and playgrounds. In Austin, Texas, Highland Mall was converted into a community college. Much of the 600,000 square foot mall will be the home of Austin Community College.[42]The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, in Arlington, Virginia, United StatesHigh land prices in populous cities have led to the concept of the "vertical mall," in which space allocated to retail is configured over a number of stories accessible by elevators and/or escalators (usually both) linking the different levels of the mall. The challenge of this type of mall is to overcome the natural tendency of shoppers to move horizontally and encourage shoppers to move upwards and downwards.[43]The concept of a vertical mall was originally conceived in the late 1960s by the Mafco Company, former shopping center development division of Marshall Field & Co. The Water Tower Place skyscraper, Chicago, Illinois, was built in 1975 by Urban Retail Properties. It contains a hotel, luxury condominiums, and office space and sits atop a block-long base containing an eight-level atrium-style retail mall that fronts on the Magnificent Mile.[citation needed]Vertical malls are common in densely populated conurbations such as Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Bangkok. Times Square in Hong Kong is a principal example.[43]A vertical mall may also be built where the geography prevents building outward or there are other restrictions on construction, such as historical buildings or significant archeology. The Darwin Shopping Centre and associated malls in Shrewsbury, UK, are built on the side of a steep hill, around the former outer walls of the nearby medieval castle;[44]consequently the shopping center is split over seven floors vertically – two locations horizontally – connected by elevators, escalators and bridge walkways. Some establishments incorporate such designs into their layout, such as Shrewsbury's McDonald's restaurant, split into four stories with multiple mezzanines which feature medieval castle vaults – complete with arrowslits – in the basement dining rooms.Faced with the exploding popularity of buying online, shopping malls are emptying and are seeking new solutions to generate traffic. In the US, for example, roughly 200 out of 1,300 malls across the country are going out of business.[45]To combat this trend, developers are trying to turn malls into leisure centers that include attractions such as parks, movie theaters, gyms, and even fishing lakes.[46]Others, such as the European commercial real-estate giant Unibail-Rodamco, are modernizing their approach by promoting brand interaction and enhanced architectural appeal. A recent example that integrates both approaches is the So Ouest mall outside of Paris that was designed to resemble elegant, Louis XV-style apartments and includes 17,000 square metres (180,000 sq ft) of green space.[47]The Australian mall company Westfield launched an online mall (and later a mobile app) with 150 stores, 3,000 brands and over 1 million products.[48]Online shopping has increased its share of total retail sales since 2008. In Q3 2008, it comprised 3.6% of retail purchases and this increased to 7.4% by Q3 2015.[42]See also: Category:Shopping property management firmsA shopping property management firm is a company that specializes in owning and managing shopping malls. Most shopping property management firms own at least 20 malls. Some firms use a similar naming scheme for most of their malls; for example, Mills Corporation puts "Mills" in most of its mall names and SM Prime Holdings of the Philippines puts "SM" in all of its malls, as well as anchor stores such as The SM Store, SM Appliance Center, SM Hypermarket, SM Cinema, and SM Supermarket. In the UK, The Mall Fund changes the name of any center it buys to "The Mall (location)", using its pink-M logo; when it sells a mall the center reverts to its own name and branding, such as the Ashley Centre in Epsom.[49]Similarly, following its rebranding from Capital Shopping Centres, intu Propertiesrenamed many of its centres to "intu (name/location)" (such as intu Lakeside; again, malls removed from the network revert to their own brand (see for instance The Glades in Bromley).Shopping center management and advisory firms are bringing about professional management practices to the largely fragmented shopping center development industry in India. Historically, land ownership in India, has been fragmented and as a byproduct shopping center development, which rendered the single mall developers vulnerable to dubious advice and practices, since standard benchmarks, knowledge resources, and skilled people were scarce. This is changing as new firms promoted by former shopping center managers are stepping in to bridge the gap between ownership and professional management.[citation needed]Beyond Squarefeet[50]from India is another mall management company, which is foraying into various other countries such as India, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Qatar, etc. Mall management is slowly becoming a trend and is much sought after services in Asia and other markets.One controversial aspect of malls has been their effective displacement of traditional main streets or high streets. Some consumers prefer malls, with their parking garages, controlled environments, and private security guards, over CBDs or downtowns, which frequently have limited parking, poor maintenance, outdoor weather, and limited police coverage.[51][52]In response, a few jurisdictions, notably California, have expanded the right of freedom of speech to ensure that speakers will be able to reach consumers who prefer to shop, eat, and socialize within the boundaries of privately owned malls.[53]

Finishing is a general term which usually refers to treatment on textile fabrics after dyeing or printing.  It increase life and durability of the fabric. By finishing we can maintain fabric shape and size. Finishing accentuate or inhibiti some characteristic of fabric. Impart new characteristic or properties. Finishes may be done by chemically or mechanically. To get good finished quality we should maintain machine parameter or proper chemical recipe. We can improve finished product quality by developing machine parameter or create new and appropriate chemical recipe.3. •To improve the appearance of the fabric. •To improve the feel of the fabric by softening, stiffening, etc. •To cover faults in the original fabric. •To increase weight of the cloth. •Special properties required for particular uses .4. Types of finishing The most common classifications: Aesthetic finishes Functional finishes Finishes also classifies:5. Process Flow Chart of Finishing Section:6. After dyeing process from the dyeing machine then the fabrics are ready for de-watering. This is the process to remove the water from the fabrics partially by squeezing. Process flow chart: Fig: Crossectional view of Bianco Tube Squeezer. Basic function of the squeezing m/c: To remove the water from the fabric. To control the width of the fabric. To control the length of the fabric. To control the spirality of the fabric. To control the over feeding system. To increase the softness of the fabric. To remove the crease mark of the fabric.7. • The slitting machine is used in processing fabrics in the open line in the finishing section. Main Parts: *Turn table; *Beater; *Rope; *De- twister; *Centering unit; *Slitting unit *Pulley drive *Squeezing Process flow chart: Figure: Passage Diagram of Slitting Machine of Brueckner Machine Functions: •To slit the tube fabric by the knife for opening of the fabric and ready for stentering. •Delivered fabric is crease free state. •Before squeezing balloon is formed with the help of compressed air passing by a nozzle or air sprayer. •It can control the diameter of fabric and GSM and shrinkage by over feeding mechanism. •Soften the fabric by applying the softeners.8. •The machine is used for removing the residual water contained in the fabric after squeezing by applying heat on the fabric in the machine. •the fabric is feed on the drying net at low over feed speed and the humidity is continuously measured. •Drying is done by applying heat through burner nozzles. Main parts: •Heating chamber •Blower •Synthetic blanket as a conveyor •Folder •Exhaust fan •Steam valve •Conveyer roller •Tension roller Machine Functions: •To dry the fabric with help of steam •To control the shrinkage •To prepare for next subsequent process •To dry tubular and open width fabric without tension. •To remove residual water containing in the fabric.9. Stenter Machine:•Stenter is used for open form fabric. It is the heart of open knit finishing sector. Main Parts & Zones: Back Zone: #Guider ; #Two Baths & Padder or Squeezer; #Auto centering Middle Zone: #Over feed regions; #Bianco or Mahlo arrangement; #Chain & clip system; #Chambers (Contains blower, heater, recovery) Front Zone: #Over feed zone ; #Plaiting; #Static electricity remover Figure : Passage Diagram of Stenter Machine Functions: •To control the shrinkage •To control the required GSM by overfeed •To control the required dia. •Heat setting •For straighten the fabric •To control bowing & bias (spirality) •For uniform moisture content •Finishing chemical application •Selvedge gumming & cutting10. •The treatment of knit fabrics in tubular form on the TUBULAR COMPACTOR meets the exacting standards set by customers Main Machine Parts: •Feed section: Tension control & Metal detector. •Shape: Set according to the dia. of fabric •Steam zone •Take out & Plaiter zone •Compacting Zone: It’s a roller & shoe arrangement & the most important zone which consists of two rollers, the Feed roller (Recarter roller) & the Retard roller. They are heated by Shoe, into which hot thermo-oil runs through. Fig: Cross sectional View of Tube Compactor Machine Basic functions of the Tube compactor machine: •To control the GSM. (Increase & decrease). •To control the dia. •To control the shrinkage. (Increase & decrease). •Width control through a stepless adjustable special tubular fabric spreader driven by variable speed motor for distortion-free fabric guidance. •Steamping with a condensate-free steam box which is easily operated and completely made from stainless stell. •Compacting through two Nomex felt belts. •Calendaring while passing between the felt belt and the heated shrinking rollers.11. •Open Width Compactor is suitable for open width knit fabrics to achieve exact dimensional stability and a soft feel. Main Parts of the Machine: •Heating chamber •Blower (2, one at the entry chain zone for uncurling and another at the entry of compacting zone) •ynthetic blanket as a conveyor, •Folder •Exhaust fan •Unpinning cylinder (-40% (+-)40%) •Belt cylinder (-40% ( +-)40%) •Uncurling device at entry of compacting zone. •Sensor •Brush roller Figure: Passage diagram of Corino Open Compactor Machine Function: •To compact the fabric •To control the shrinkage •To maintain proper width and G.S.M •To make the fabric surface smooth12. •During raising, the fabric surface is treated with sharp teeth to lift the surface fibres, thereby imparting hairiness, softness and warmth, as in flannelette. Main parts: •Return drag roller •Pile •Counter pile •Front drag roller •Suction pump •Drum •Plaiter roller Feed Delivery Pile Counter pile Front drag Roller Rear drag Roller Return drag roller Plaiter roller Figure : Cross-sectional view of Raising Brush machine Machine Functions: •To obtain a lofty handle effect on fabric. •To obtain fleece appearance. •To create pile on fabric surface. •To produce a heavier surface made of fibers.13. •Softening treatment is one of the most important chemical after treatments in the textile industry. •By softening treatment textile can achieve not only soft handle but also: Some smoothness. More flexibility. Drape and Pliability. Antistatic properties. Luster. Soft handle. Types of softeners:14. Advantages: •Resins have a profound effect on and cause changes in the hand (feel), drapability and physical characteristics of textiles. •They add stiffness to fabrics and are thus used as stiffening agents or to create a firm hand. •Yarns in fabric will be stabilized and will resist shrinkage in laundering. •This finish imparts luster to the cotton. •Increases cotton strength by nearly 25% and improves dye affinity. •It is a method of thickening woollen material to make it more water-resistant15. •Nanotechnology is an umbrella term covering a wide range of technologies concerned with structures and processes on the nanometric scale. •. Nanotechnology deals with the science and technology at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers (1 Billion Nanotechnology = 1metre), although 100 nanometers presently is the practically attainable dimension for textile products and applications. •The Nanotechnology can be used in engineering desired textiles attributes, such as fabric softness, namely, water repellency, fire retardancy, antimicrobial resistance etc in fibers, yarns and fabrics. •Enhancement of textile materials by nanotechnology is expected to become a trillion dollar industry in the next decade, with tremendous economic and ecology benefits. •With the advent of nanotechnology, a new area has developed in the realm of textile finishing.16. Antimicrobial Finish: • It is a well-known fact that the growth of bacteria and microorganisms in food or water is prevented hen stored in silver vessels due to its antibacterial properties. • The antibacterial properties of silver are now scientifically recognized. • Silver ions have been spectrum of antimicrobial activities. • The method of producing durable silver containing antimicrobial finish is to encapsulate silver compound or nano particle with a fiber reactive polymer like poly (styrene-maleric anhydride). • Products which are commonly applied are brominated phenols, quaternary ammonium compounds, organo-silver and tin compounds, which can be applied as solutions or dispersions. • They can also be incorporated in a polymeric film deposited on the surface to achieve controlled release. • The rays in the wavelength region of 150 to 400nm are known as ultraviolet radiations. •ultraviolet absorber finish of a fabric is present that absorbs ultraviolet radiation and blocks its transmission through a fabric to the skin. •Metal oxides like ZnO as UV-blocker are more stable when compared to organic UV- blocking agents. •Hence, nano ZnO will really enhance the UV-blocking property due to their increase surface area and intense absorption in the UV region.17. Properties of nano textiles Nanomaterials Electro conductive/antistatic Carbon nanotubes(CNT) Cυ Polypyrrole Polyaniline Increased durability CNT Polybutylacrylate SiO2 ZnO Self-cleaning/ dirt and water repellent CNT SiO2 (as matrix) TiO2 Moisture-absorbing Tio2 UV protection TiO2 ZnO Fire proof CNT Montmorillonite(Nano-Clay) Heat conductive/isolating CNT18. • Nano-processed garments have protective coating, which is water and beverage repellent. • Their protective layer is difficult to detect with the naked eye. • Saving time and laundering cost. • This technology embraces environment friendly properties. • The crease resistant feature keeps clothing neat. • Nano- processed products are toxic free. • Garments stay bright, fresh looking and are more durable than ordinary materials. • Manufacturing cost is low, adding value to the products.19. •Parameter: •Padder (1): 4-5 bar ; Padder (2): 3.5- 4 bar Fabric type Fabric speed (m/min) Over feed % Single jersey (Viscose) 50-70 30 Single jersey(Cotton/Lycra) 60-80 22 Single jersey(Cotton) 60-80 10-11 1x1 Rib 20-30 11 Interlock 20-30 14-15 terry 40-50 5-9 Single jersey- 180GSM (exp.) 70 25% Checking point: Diameter; Fabric speed; Overfeeds; Padder pressure Development: Wet Squeezer Marks Softener Mark20. Parameter: Fabric type Speed m/min Over feed % Padder Pressure 1 Padder pressure2 Single jersey 60-80 2.5-3 1.5 bar (chemical)- 2bar (normal) 3 bar (chemical)- 4bar (normal) 1×1 rib 30-40 2.5-3 1.25 bar (chemical) -3bar (normal) 2.5 bar (chemical)- 3 bar (normal) 2×2 rib 20-30 2.5-3 1.25 bar (chemical) -3bar (normal) 2.5bar (chemical)- 3 bar (normal) Loop back 20-30 2.5-3 1.5 bar (chemical)- 2bar (normal) 3 bar (chemical)- 4bar (normal) Single jersey (160GSM) EXP 75 2.8 1.5 bar 3 bar Checking point: Needle line; machine speed. Development: Softener spot Improper slitting21. Fabric type Color Speed Over feed Temperature (°C) Stretch (%) s/j White 10 15-20 120 35 Dyed 8-10 15-20 120-130 35 PK White 12-15 30 120 50 Dyed 15 30 120-140 50 1×1 rib White 7-8 10 120-140 20 Dyed 7-8 10 130-140 20 2×2 rib White 7-8 20 120 25 Dyed 7-8 20 120-130 25 s/j (160 GSM) EXP. White 10 20 130 35 Parameter: Checking point: Speed; Temperature. Development: Overheating and Shade Variation.22. Parameter: Fabric Parameter Single jersey l-Rib PK Fleece/ terry Single jersey EXP. Required Dia (cm) 88 80 54 80 190 Actual Dia (cm) 90.5 88 67 84 208 Required GSM 160 240 210 240 260 Actual GSM 148 218 185 232 240 Temperature (°C) 170 170 170 170 160 Overfeed 60 45 60 40 40 Machine Speed 20 18 18 16 20 Controlling point: Temperature ; Width setting; Overfeed; Speed. Development: Spirality problem GSM variation & width variation for lycra fabric. Wrong and narrow width Startch stains and white lines on finished cloth23. Parameter: Over-feed ratio: Edge drive zone – 1.0-1.5 Retard roller – 0.80-0.85 Take-out zone – 0.85-0.90 Conveyor belt – 1.0-1.05 Plaiter – 0.80-0.85 Shoe pressure: S/J – large dia. – avg. 30 psi S/J – smaller dia. – 10-15 psi Rib – 10-20 psi Lycra - <10 psi Types of fabric Buyer Color Over feed Reqd. GSM Finished GSM M/C dia. (cm) Reqd. Dia. Finished dia. Temp 0 C RP M Single jersey Name IT Black 60% 180 178 115 100 98 1100 C 15 J &J Navy 60% 190 207 195 64″ 71″ 1100 C 18 1×1 Rib Pimkie 0350 60% 210 205 210 74″ 75″ 1000 C 18 2×2 Rib (lycra) Russel Black 60% 180 180 180 64″ 68″ 1100 C 18 Interlock Kappa Khaki 60% 260 300 200 75″ 72″ 1100 C 18 Polyester fabric Rex & Holm Khaki 60% 190 185 190 64″ 67″ 1100 C 20 Fleece Kappa Blue 60% 260 228 210 74″ 77.5″ 1100 C 18 Interlock EXP. Blue 60% 330 288 224 222 1150 C 20 Development: Folding Marks GSM Variation24. Conclusion •We all have tried our level best in accomplishing the project. •Lack of presentation time we skip some topic which we include ours presentation book. •We are greatly thankful to the management and staffs of the companies namely “GMS Composite Knitting IND. Ltd.”, “ Raiyan Knit Composite Ltd ” .Without their constant support it could not have been possible •. In our project we came up mainly with different kinds of knit finishing parameter & development in different machines. •In the project of us we included the each machines in the finishing lines, their working mechanism, their technical data, machine specification, ways of controlling different important parameters, faults and remedies. •We express our heartiest thanks to our project supervisor and honorable teacher, Najmul Ehsan, Lecturer of the Department of Textile Engineering for his logical guidelines, constant inspirations, necessary instructions and proper supervision25. References: http://www.gmsbd.com Discover the Best eBooks, Audiobooks, Magazines, Sheet Music, and More | Scribd http://www.textileschols.com http://www.fiber2fashion.com/industry- article/12/1177/nano-technology-adds-value-to-textile- finishing5.asp Nanotechnology and Emerging Technologies News from Nanowerk http://www.en.wikipedia.org My Textile Notes Bibliography: Corbman, Bernard, P. Textiles Fiber to Fabric, sixth edition, MeGraw-Hill International, New York, America.26. Abstract: We have tried to present all types of finishing processes. Most of the finishing processes are not conduct in Bangladesh. In our country function finishing process is done mostly. Aesthetic finishing are more expensive than functional. We tried hard to give accurate parameter and solve the fault of finishing process. That’s how we can develop finishing process and give more production. Due to limitation our knowledge we did not all finishing processes. We think that our internship and project paper based on finishing will increase our knowledge in many sides.