ABSTRACT
Consumer settings have dotted the geography of our existence for centuries. The advent of a capitalist mode of production, however, has intensified the quantity (though arguably not the quality) of these settings. The last half-century has seemed particularly explosive in terms of the creation of new methods of attracting consumers and their dollars. In particular, the 1980s and the 1990s saw the emergence of “cathedrals of consumptions” (Ritzer 2005) – spectacular, themed, shopping and entertainment environments that drew crowds and consumers en masse. More recently, we have seen the emergence of what we will call (borrowing a term from sociologist Sharon Zukin) “landscapes of consumption” – locales that encompass two or more cathedrals of consumption that allow, encourage, and even compel people to consume. If the cathedral of consumption is best captured by the image of the suburban mall, the cruise line, or the themed restaurant, then the landscape of consumption is best captured by the image of the Las Vegas Strip, a collection of consumer settings that work synergistically to generate an energy of place that cannot be reduced to any single setting.
