ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that contemporary Western cities are characterized by a process of symbolic and representational modification in which places of consumption play a central role in cultural change. Mike Featherstone explains the culture of contemporary consumption is characterized by constant production and reproduction of signs that modify the existing symbolic order, then the very activity of acquiring the shopping cannot be reduced to a simple act of material appropriation through means of economic transaction. Empirical research has identified three different kinds of typology that can be used to organize the innovative space of consumption: multi-functionalism, poly-sensorialism and pluri-localization. The three multi-factorial dimensions of the created environment the multifunctional, the poly-sensorial and the pluri-localization of a thematic space are some of the most important contributions to creation of an experience and to the weight of a suitable lifestyle. The discussion identifies the actual expression of contemporary cultural flow, which fluctuates between flows of locality and of cosmopolitan and hybridization.
