In Britain there is much wailing and anguish over the “Death of the High Street”

Long-established national icons like Woolworths and British Home Stores, locally-owned department stores, traditional groceries, local pubs, etc., and countless other decent shops have closed down and either boarded-up or replaced with sleaze and tackiness – charity shops, take-away food shops, betting shops, “pound shops”, phone shops, cafes, nail bars, etc.  There has been much hopeful talk about “re-generating” high streets by lowering business rates and taxes, better public transport, easier parking, pedestrianisation, etc.    All of which have been tried with limited success.

Surely its time to admit that traditional “High Streets” have outlived their usefulness.?

ITS PRETTY OBVIOUS WHY SO MANY SHOPS ARE CLOSING

Online shopping, expensive parking, street-sleepers, and general scruffiness.   Cold, windy and rainy WEATHER is also a big factor, as enclosed malls are so much more comfortable and safer to roam around in.   Most of us have cars these days, making street shopping inconvenient compared to Malls, Hypermarkets and Retail Parks which have plenty of parking, often free.

V & A shopping mall, Cape Town waterfront

OASIS CITIES will have all the advantages of the “out of town” enclosed shopping mall but with no need for any enormous and wasteful parking areas.   Your shopping mall will be just a short stroll from your apartment, enabling you to wheel your shopping trolley right to your door..!  Plus many more attractions and places for the kids to play in safety whilst you relax with a coffee or a glass of wine perhaps next to a soothing musical fountain.

Caesars Forum Mall (Las Vegas) showing its blue “sky” with simulated day/night transition.  Although its been many years since I was last in Vegas, I doubt this awesome feature (which originally opened in 1991) has been surpassed.  Standing in Neptune’s Fountain Piazza (jump to 4 mins in and forget the rest) its easy to imagine you’re in St Marks Square in Venice, but without the noise and the seething crowds of flag-following tour groups.    

The inner sanctuary of an Oasis City would be the perfect location in which to crate the most amazing amazing public spaces.