HongKongisthetwenty-first-centuryparadigmaticcapitalofconsumerism.Ofallplaces,ithasthedensestandtallestconcentrationofmalls,reachingtensofstories.HongKong’smallsarealsothemostvisited,sandwichedbetweensubwaysandskyscrapers.Thesemallcomplexeshavebecomecitiesinandofthemselves,accommodatingtensofthousandsofpeoplewholive,work,andplaywithinasinglestructure.MallCityfeaturesHongKongasauniquerenderingofanadvancedconsumersociety.Retailspacehascomealongwaysincethenineteenth-centurycoveredpassagesofParis,whichonceawedthebourgeoisiewithglassroofsandgaslights.Ithasmorphedfromthearcadetothedepartmentstore,andfromthemallintothe“mallcity”—where“expresscalators”crisscrossmesmerizingatriums.HighlightingtheeffectsofthisdevelopmentinHongKong,thisbookraisesquestionsaboutarchitecture,cityplanning,culture,andurbanlife.
FIRST HONGKONG KONG CITY WORK HONG
