The Locations
A homeless girl on the doorsteps of Rideau Centre
Both Rideau and Bayshore, as mentioned before, are similar in the fact that they are both extremely large, have the majority of the same stores in common, are both under expansion and both are in locations that simply do not make much sense for a shopping mall.
Rideau Centre is located in the heart of downtown in a certainly inconvenient location. The area is prone to transience, homelessness and students, yet, the mall almost certainly effectively keeps out "trouble" by using surveillance either of CCTV, security guards and customers.
Bayshore is located just before the "suburbs" of West end Ottawa, right beside the 417 highway. It is far from the city centre, but is located at an equally confusing area. Right in front of Bayshore mall is what is now called "Accora's Village". This lovely sounding place is home to the high rates of new immigrants in Ottawa, as well as low-income and government funded housing. In order to draw customers in, Bayshore as a neighbourhood changed to a "friendlier" sounding name to get rid of the negative stigma attached to the area.
Rideau Centre is located in the heart of downtown in a certainly inconvenient location. The area is prone to transience, homelessness and students, yet, the mall almost certainly effectively keeps out "trouble" by using surveillance either of CCTV, security guards and customers.
Bayshore is located just before the "suburbs" of West end Ottawa, right beside the 417 highway. It is far from the city centre, but is located at an equally confusing area. Right in front of Bayshore mall is what is now called "Accora's Village". This lovely sounding place is home to the high rates of new immigrants in Ottawa, as well as low-income and government funded housing. In order to draw customers in, Bayshore as a neighbourhood changed to a "friendlier" sounding name to get rid of the negative stigma attached to the area.
Access to the malls
If both locations are inconvenient, how do shoppers access these malls? For one, shoppers can drive, however, there are currently expansions on both parking lots at Rideau Centre and Bayshore Mall.
Despite this minor set back, shoppers will not be stopped. Indeed, a sophisticated bussing system thanks to OC Transpo has it so many busses make it to both locations daily, at all points in the day. As an Ottawa native, I cannot think of any other locations beside Bayshore and Rideau (civil locations - not bus stations) that have a higher rate of the volume of civilians and busses that pass through daily. This is not by accident. Both locations require consumers, as much as consumers require them. Access from all points of the city are given so that these two malls can conveniently guide customers inside their walls. In the photo below, Bayshore has an OC transpo guide that allows customers to know when their busses are coming!
A matter of convenience
In order to get shoppers to stay longer and spend more, convenience in busy malls is key. Both Rideau Centre and Bayshore Mall have optimal guest services, which include anything from free wheelchair or stroller rentals, to coat check, to lost and found.
The photo above was taken in Bayshore Mall. Growing up in Ottawa and having work experience within this mall, the commodification of space is not something new. Bayshore notoriously uses the space between floors to promote or commercialize products or events sponsored by or for the mall. Here, we have an advertisement for yoga and "living well". The mise-en-scene is important here because directly beside it is living room type furniture that look chic and modern - where else to purchase these but inside Homesense on the first floor?
Conclusion
All in all, our initial interest was to see if these two malls held differences from one another. What we found out was that if anything, these malls are very much alike in the way their structures are, in the stores that they have, in terms of social exclusion and so forth.
What was really outstanding was how we felt in both locations; Rideau Centre is somewhere we typically go through multiple times a week, whether it be to catch a bus, shop or to eat. Bayshore is no different, yet, the moment we knew what to observe and look for, we found them. This means observing ourselves as well, and noticing our exclusion or inclusion. At one point, I (Yadgar) went to talk to a security guard so that I may know the mall rules. Through conversation and a speech about the mall's values and the general law, I managed to really get a feeling that the mall really did not want the homeless there. I personally made it clear that I had not spent money, that I was hanging around and that I was collecting data without permission. It did not matter - I was deemed a harmless female student with the privilege to be invisible.
This invisibility was not constant, though. In both malls, if we congregated as groups and entered stores, we would be watched until we left. It was our "poor" collective student identity that made us feel the exclusion - we are youth who most likely do not have the money to spend or the means to consume. Furthermore, we really felt it was a racial/physical judgement as well. In our group, there are two significantly taller males, one caucasian and one African American, as well as as a female with questionable ethnicity (could be deemed caucasian, middle Eastern, and so forth). To be a female on your own, typically you are left by yourself if you are well dressed. If you are male, usually there is a sharper eye on you. Combine our entire group and I assumed this excluded treatment as well, but alone, I was welcomed.
Overall, this project really opened our eyes to analyze the things most familiar to us. While we assumed the mall was a space that anyone can freely occupy, we were very wrong. What also was interesting was how the malls are so much alike, yet consumers pick and choose favourites, or hunt for a malls during vacations and travel. Lastly, the mall as a space to be really stood out - as much as the mall is a place to consume and spend, it is also a place to be and learn.
What was really outstanding was how we felt in both locations; Rideau Centre is somewhere we typically go through multiple times a week, whether it be to catch a bus, shop or to eat. Bayshore is no different, yet, the moment we knew what to observe and look for, we found them. This means observing ourselves as well, and noticing our exclusion or inclusion. At one point, I (Yadgar) went to talk to a security guard so that I may know the mall rules. Through conversation and a speech about the mall's values and the general law, I managed to really get a feeling that the mall really did not want the homeless there. I personally made it clear that I had not spent money, that I was hanging around and that I was collecting data without permission. It did not matter - I was deemed a harmless female student with the privilege to be invisible.
This invisibility was not constant, though. In both malls, if we congregated as groups and entered stores, we would be watched until we left. It was our "poor" collective student identity that made us feel the exclusion - we are youth who most likely do not have the money to spend or the means to consume. Furthermore, we really felt it was a racial/physical judgement as well. In our group, there are two significantly taller males, one caucasian and one African American, as well as as a female with questionable ethnicity (could be deemed caucasian, middle Eastern, and so forth). To be a female on your own, typically you are left by yourself if you are well dressed. If you are male, usually there is a sharper eye on you. Combine our entire group and I assumed this excluded treatment as well, but alone, I was welcomed.
Overall, this project really opened our eyes to analyze the things most familiar to us. While we assumed the mall was a space that anyone can freely occupy, we were very wrong. What also was interesting was how the malls are so much alike, yet consumers pick and choose favourites, or hunt for a malls during vacations and travel. Lastly, the mall as a space to be really stood out - as much as the mall is a place to consume and spend, it is also a place to be and learn.