Contemporary

urban culture is consumer culture. How does consumerism shape the urban environment and urban social relationships? Since Louis Wirths seminal piece on the city and its inhabitants in Urbanism as a Way of Life (1938), urban environments have been seen as the primary manifestation of the modern way of life. His focus on not only the environment but the people and the social interactions within the city, paved the way for the concepts that now underpin urban sociology. Since his writing however, the postmodern way of life has taken hold, and with this, the most pervasive change to the urban way of life has evolved, that of the shift from a production to a consumer society (Zukin 1995; Miles & Miles 2004: 7-8). This essay seeks to understand the actions and effects of consumerism on the urban environment and perhaps most significantly, on urban social relationships. In order to conceptualize the current state of the urban environment and social relationships in this consumer society, it is first necessary to outline the shift from an urban society based on production to one based on consumption. With this contextual underpinning, this essay then seeks to outline the ways in which the environment is shaped by consumerism as a way of life. This in turn naturally leads to a discussion of how consumerism itself and the environment, as shaped by consumerism, impacts on urban social relationships. Underlying much of this essay is a notion of citizenship that is tied to both individual action and public space. Theoretical understandings of the individual in society are also addressed, whilst alternative and activist forms of consumption are touched on briefly as a means of looking to the future.

 An understanding of the history of the consumer society and consumerism is important to understand the effects they have on the urban environment and urban social relations in the present. The rise of the consumer society is most commonly acknowledged as occurring in line with mass consumption (Ransome 2005: 52). The city was formerly recognised as the site of production during the industrial revolution, however, in line with the rise of mass production came the rise in mass consumption (Ransome 2005:52). Further to this, the rise of post- Fordism and post-modernism saw an individualisation of production as consumers sought out a wide variety of products to consume and purchase (Corrigan 1997: 2; Ransome 2005:52). For the cause of this essay, perhaps most importantly among this historical change is the shift in the location of individual and social identity (Smart 2010:12). Smart (2010:12-13) acknowledges the work of Marx and Engels in defining the shaping of an individuals identity within their mode of production or working life. Smart (2010: 13, citing Marx and Engels 1968) suggests that the stable underpinnings of society have been, rendered fluid as production and consumption have been subjected to relentless transformation, leading to the development of a more mobile, flexible, and faster- paced consumer society. The stable concepts of society and the stability in the link between an individuals work and identity have thus been shifted to a fluid and alternative notion of consumerism, from which citizens are now required to construct their identity. The rise of the consumer society has therefore been predicated on a shift from production to mass consumption, which has had clear effects on the urban environment and the urban inhabitants.

 Where the industrialised city was seen as a landscape of production, the post- industrial city has been conceptualised as an environment of consumption (Miles & Miles 2004; Voyce 2006; Smart 2010; Miles 2012). Miles & Miles (2004:86) along with a wealth of others, consider the quintessential architecture of consumption in the consumer society to be the shopping mall or arcade. The purpose of these spaces was that of entirely to entice consumption of goods and services in an enclosed space of spectacle and aesthetic interest (Smart 2010:169). Following on from this, Miles & Miles (2004: 98) suggest that the shift from city-centres as places of shopping, to the suburban malls have re- constructed the city space, minus the ordinary and the awkward bits, as a zone of safety which has, in simulation, the variety of space and function of downtown. So then, the urban environment itself has been altered in such a way that the consumption of goods and services is now at the forefront of activity in the city and the suburban sphere. Spaces in the city are no longer conceptualised by their form of production or their productive capacities, but by their relation to consumption and the individuals that consume within them. This has led to an observable shift in the connections between citizens and the urban environment, which has made the shopping mall the centre of the interaction between individuals in society and society itself. It is now important to engage more closely with the shopping mall as a connecting space for consumers as citizens of the society and the consumer culture. Corrigan (1997: 52) suggests that the rise of shopping malls can be most

closely related to the increase need for large displays of goods that were being produced in the age of mass production. The aesthetically appealing displays themselves serve to fetishise the commodity and make unique and desirable the goods that were being produced (Corrigan 1997: 57). Voyce (2006) echoes such statements in suggesting that whilst the displays bring about ideals of individuality in consumptive practices, the shopping mall has a universalizing role in helping to create and maintain an image of the global consumer culture. Similarly Mile & Miles (2004: 96), suggest that within the mall consumers consider themselves a mass whilst enjoying perceived uniqueness through their consumption. So whilst the goods themselves serve as a means of individualising consumers within a society, the spaces of consumption, the shopping malls as a whole, serve to connect consumers to the wider society. The concept of space within the shopping mall however, is problematic for notions of citizenship and the conception of public and private space. Voyce (2006) discusses at length the role of the shopping mall in constructing a type of consumerist citizenship that is detached from public space. Voyce (2006:273) considers shopping malls to exist in a type of quasi-public space which is defined as a space which could easily be construed as public due to freedom of entry and freedom of movement, but is however tightly controlled and is at all times, still a private space. The shopping mall is thus constructed as a space, devoid of all connections to local heritage and local citizens and thus becomes simply a space to enact consumerist citizenship. For Voyce (2006: 275) it is this shift from place to space that is most important in the shopping mall. The space is no longer a public area, but somewhere that is controlled through visible and

non-visible security and rules and regulations that may force any participant to leave (Voyce 2006: 275-276). Thus, the shopping mall is in a position to construct and maintain its own form of citizenship, which is directly related to the consumer society that perpetuates its existence and dominance of public spaces, by focusing consumers on a particular type of citizenship and identity. Consumerism and its propagates therefore shape the urban environment in such a way as to place at the forefront of individuals the notions of consumerism and the consumerist citizen. With a discussion of the impact of this type of urban environment on the inhabitants of the city, it is now appropriate to discuss the ways in which consumerism shapes social relations between individuals and groups within the city and urban landscape. If we take Smarts (2010) acknowledgement of Marx and Engels and consider the urban inhabitants identity now rooted in consumption rather than production, we can conceptualise the impacts this has on social relations. In line with this, Georg Simmels notion of the purchasability of things has resulted in a transition which sees the individual reduced to a hollow shell which places consumption over all else and which sees physical proximity result in social distance (Miles & Miles 2004: 9). Similarly, Stebbins (2009: 6, citing Bauman 2003) suggests that the individual needs to be a consumer first, before one can think of becoming anything in particular. Thus with the construction of the individual as a consumer, social relations take on new forms.

These new types of social relations are predicated on consumptive practices and include the notions of conspicuous consumption and competitive consumption. Rafferty (2011) for instance, considers the desire to follow fashion trends as being indicative of a need to claim ones status as a consumer and situate oneself within a certain social status or with a certain reputation. This sort of conspicuous consumption, or competitive consumption as Stebbins (2009) notes is particularly relevant in the urban environment. Outside of individual identity formation, these types of consumption serve to link individuals within wider groups of consumers, in a, as sense citizens of consumption. Wearing the latest fashion trends or driving the newest car places individuals within groups that are defined both internally and externally through their consumption practices. Consumption takes on a symbolic role, where people are able to enact their citizenship within the society and within a particular group according to their ability to consume (Ransome 2005: 105). Ransome (2005: 102) most poignantly, suggests that, consumption is like a tug of war, with consumers endlessly trying to drag recognition and acknowledgement from one another. Further to this, Ransome (2005: 57) suggests that the need to create social meaning is defining social relations through ones ability to consume, what they consume, and how much they consume. Thus, in the age of consumerism and consumer culture, people are able to construct their identities around their ability to consume and the goods they are able to consume. Going further, an example of a consumption practice which in turn has a flow on effect to the urban environment if that of tourism.

Tourism is a peculiar form of conspicuous consumption that permeates through all levels of the urban environment and the urban society. In regards to identity formation, the notion of the traveller is embedded with ideas of wealth, class and leisure that are externally promoted in home environments and abroad (Stebbins 2009: 46). The tourist is an ultimate form of consumer that is entirely removed from any notion of production and is perpetuated through a series of secondary and tertiary consumptive practices that lead to the final consumption of a foreign culture. In light of this, public spaces are structured around the accommodation of tourists (Miles &Miles 2004: 69, 83). Public space is homogenized in much the same way as shopping malls are constructed, except in this instance the citys important places are transformed to accommodate the foreign tourist (Mansvelt 2008: 109-110). Corrigan (1997: 137) considers the idea of staged authenticity to describe this construction of homogenous space to draw in the tourist in these areas. Therefore the concept of tourism within the consumer society is one that shapes urban environments as well as urban social relations. The environment is changed in much the same way as shopping malls are constructed for local inhabitants, and the tourist identity is constructed as a means of confirming ones identity as a consumer of both commodities and culture. Consumerism thus affects both aspects here, and is something that permeates through the individual in a local urban environment and a foreign urban environment. In light of much of this discussion, there are ways of consumption which are beginning to take hold that reject the typical notions of endless consumption and the formation of ones identity through consumptive practices. Smart (2010) is

perhaps the most critical of the consumer society in its implications for the health of the environment and the sustainability of such mass consumption. He suggests that not only do these consumption practices impact on the urban environment in regards to the human built landscapes, but they have serious consequences for the physical environment itself, particularly in regards to waste (Smart 2010). The rise of green consumerism is one response to the mass consumption practices of the post-modern society and the increase in a moral economy (Smart 2010: 202). This form of consumerism focuses on sustainable practices that emphasize reuse and recycling of goods in a way to reduce environmental degradation. Such practices fly in the face of typical notions of consumerism and have obvious effects on the ability to construct ones identity around consumption. Miles & Miles (2004: 147-169) similarly look at alternative forms of consumption in urban landscapes and raise the question as to the viability of a post-consumerist landscape. What is important in discussions of these ideas is to focus on bringing back the urban environment to the citizens and the reconstruction of public space over quasi-public or private space. In order to act beyond the consumer society, citizens must have access to alternative spaces to enact their citizenship that are free from the consumerist landscape of the shopping mall, or the tourist centres of the worlds major cities. There must also be room for social relations to be constructed beyond the quantitative goods that define parts of the current society. This essay has sought to map out the current state of the consumer society, through a discussion and analysis of the urban environment and urban social

relation as impacted by consumerism. The urban shift from production to consumption practices has been acknowledge through a discussion of the history and sociologists that defined both societies and the creation of identity within the. This essay ahs then moved on to a discussion of the landscape of consumerism, the shopping mall, before embarking on a discussion of the impacts such landscapes have on the individuals and group within the society. In an attempt to situate this essay within a more positive outlook, alternative forms of discussion have been briefly mentioned as a way of moving beyond the consumer society in a post-consumerist one. Throughout, this discussion however it has been noted that the individual as a citizen, and with certain rights urban environments within society must be the focus. References Corrigan, P. (1997), The sociology of consumption: an introduction, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Mansvelt, J. (2008), "Geographies of consumption: citizenship, space and practice", Progress in Human Geography, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 105-117. Miles, S. & Miles, M. (2004), Consuming cities, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, N.Y. Miles, S. (2012), "The neoliberal city and the pro-active complicity of the citizen consumer", Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 216-230. Rafferty, K. (2011), "Class-based emotions and the allure of fashion consumption", Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 239-260. Ransome, P. (2005), Work, consumption and culture: affluence and social change in the twenty-first century, Sage Publications, London. Smart, B. (2010), Consumer society: critical issues and environmental consequences, SAGE, Los Angeles. Stebbins, R.A. (2009), Leisure and consumption: common ground/separate worlds, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. Voyce, M. (2006), "Shopping malls in Australia: The end of public space and the rise of 'consumerist citizenship'?", Journal of Sociology, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 269- 286. Zukin, Sharon. (1995). The Cultures of Cities. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell.

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