ABSTRACT
Throughout history particular urban spaces have been linked to the loss or dilution of regional, social and cultural values. From the agora of ancient Greece to the eighteenth-century salons, the Parisian boulevards of the nineteenth century and the shopping malls of the twentieth century, certain urban spaces have been viewed as promoting global rather than local concerns. These same sites not only advance globalization, they are also tourist spaces. The agora, the salon and the mall all encourage a singular mode of consumer behaviour that values the commodification of space, culture and experience. All these urban spaces also invite a more rarefied form of consumption that is becoming increasingly available in the modern, technologically mediated world. Not only do tourists wish to explore other spaces, cultures and experiences, they want to sample other identities as well. Whether or not the desire is to be immersed more fully in another culture, to experience something new, or to take a holiday from oneself, the answer is still the same – sample another identity.
