It is a trend which started in the United States and is rapidly spreading to the rest of the developed world. Many towns and cities do not really have a centre 1 more. Instead, a shopping mall somewhere on the outskirts serves some of the functions of an urban centre. Here, shops and banks are all crowded together, 2 is very convenient, especially for those people who use a car. You can park in the basement car park, 3 all your shopping inside the mall, and then load up the car and drive home. You don’t even have to go outside, so it doesn’t matter what the weather’s 4 So why should anyone possibly object to the growing number of shopping malls springing up around our cities? 5 fact, many people do object, not only urban planners and politicians, but environmentalists as well. One of the main reasons is that 6 most shops are concentrated in malls, it leaves city and town centres deserted and without any life of their own. Furthermore, malls do not take into 7 people without cars, who simply can’t get to them easily. Ultimately, perhaps, the most damaging criticism is that malls are virtually identical. As a result, our towns and cities are losing 8 character, which has been created over centuries.