The Invisible Consequence of a New Shopping Centre in Our Community

 


The Invisible Consequence of a New Shopping Centre in Our Community

We are living in the heart of one of the most biodiverse and protected areas of the Italian Alpine region and our local council is considering the potential benefits as well as consequences of building a new commercial centre on our land. Even though the direct commercial advantages are clear, it is vital to consider as well the long-term invisible costs on nature which would derive from such development. All involved stakeholders should collaborate to draft a possible sustainable and inclusive solution for both the profits of local communities as well as the maintenance of the ecosystem services.

KEY POINTS:
  • Land use is the biggest driver of biodiversity loss: it takes 80 years to recover 70% of species richness compared to virgin land
  • Economic and social impact of shopping mall to local communities: even though shopping centres might positively impact the level of employment, investment, tourism and infrastructure in a specific location, it is also proved that there is a negative impact to small local producers and entrepreneurs 
  • An eco-natural design of spaces in shopping malls has potential positive effect on visitors: people visit malls not only to buy a product they need but also to enjoy the atmosphere or environment of the shopping centre
A shopping mall should benefit first and foremost the local community.
Shopping centres represent potential benefits to local communities if their involvement is present since development phase. In this case, it would be argued that local manufacturers and entrepreneurs should have priority and potentially a discounted fee if they choose to participate as retailers in the mall.

There should be minimal impact to biodiversity and the residual impact compensated with additional initiatives.
The construction of the mall should involve local companies with sustainable and eco-friendly preferences in order to both boost the communities economy with additional demand in labour and resource as well as to develop an infrastructure which respects the ecosystem encircling it (see for example the concept of eco-village adapted to a shopping area). Moreover, the atmosphere should inspire an ecologically didactive environment in order to sensibilize as well the visitors regarding the biodiversity surrounding the area. Finally, the additional externalities impacting ecosystem services in the area must be reported in an yearly statement and appropriately compensated via re-investment in sustainability projects.


References:

Emma Ladouceur et al, (2023), The recovery of plant community composition following passive restoration across spatial scales, Journal of Ecology 111(4): 814-829

Leonardo Ortegón-Cortázar, Marcelo Royo-Vela, (2017), Attraction factors of shopping centres: Effects of design and eco-natural environment on intention to visit, European Journal of Management and Business Economics 26(2)

John Robertson, (2007), The economic effects of regional shopping centres, European Journal of Management and Business Economics 6: 149–170

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