Cities and Consumption Spaces

The authors explore the sociospatial relationship that exists between where household reside and consumption spaces: places specially built or redeveloped for people who visit to buy and consume within these locations the fun goods and services on sale. Consumption spaces are categorized here according to the opportunities they provide for stimulating the senses, and focusing empirically on the Australian city of Brisbane, they were found to be disproportionately concentrated in a community ringing the central business district. This community contained about one-quarter of the metropolitan area's 1.5 million residents, and it was characterized by nontraditional households, high socioeconomic status, and a significant ethnic presence.