One of the clear differences between the inner and outer suburbs of Australia is the quality and type of retail products. The upscale urban suburbs (such as Melbourne’s Fitzroy) have independent owner-operated retail operations. Busy “third places” such as cafes, bars and restaurants are commonplace, where people spend time between home (“first” location) and work (“second” location).
These are the places that hipsters like. Hipsters have an uncomfortable position in our cultural environment, the most important of which is their role in gentrification. However, their role in the inner city is very important for showing other cities how to create a contemporary, accessible and successful third place with low, gender-free barriers to entry.
The third is the residents and tourists who provided Ray Alden for the various “informal public life core environments”. Cafes, bars, pubs, clubs or chess rooms (in some places) are places where people can meet informally or “get together”. They allow for planned and occasional encounters at different times of the day, and are critical to the “feeling” of a healthy community social life or community.
What is missing in the suburbs?
As we traveled from the inner city to the outer suburbs, residents became increasingly lacking in these places. Suburban retail centers are no longer “localized” – shopping centers are isolated from the surrounding community, controlled by a corporate landlord, strolling in the sea of parking lots, and providing predictable franchise outlets and national brands, usually Used by large supermarkets as anchors. At the regional level, there are large non-personal shopping malls. These do not enable residents to take advantage of the local third place, nor do they have any sense of belonging to them, which is very important for creating places and communities.
History can play a significant role. Urban suburbs have been planned and built before widespread ownership of the car. The streets are grid-shaped for pedestrians or cycling.
These areas were built prior to the introduction of a strict “single-use” zoning system, so land use is good. Retail, residential and even industrial properties coexist. Property ownership has evolved, so a landlord rarely controls the entire retail zone. The form of construction is varied, interesting and distinctive, suitable for small independent companies.
Gentleman and high-grade
In recent decades, with more affluent residents and businesses colonizing the former working class, immigrants or aboriginal areas in the inner city, the downtown community has become more devastated. Gentlemen have experienced a long time, especially at various stages. The first colonial area was the “rental gentleman”. They are responsible for creating a trendy or avant-garde atmosphere through alternative music and art, underground fashion and emerging entrepreneurial corporate culture.
Despite their incitement to ridicule, the fashionable people are still creating “third place” to foster community awareness. This in turn attracts gentlemen with better resources. They share the same cultural tastes as renters, but they have money. This has created demand for a range of retail stores, such as artisan bakers, microbrewers, tattoo artists, vintage clothing, vinyl records stores, independent bookstores, and most importantly, bars, cafes and coffee shops.
These businesses are usually run by hipsters, a subculture that can be easily identified through carefully selected beards (male), artistic or satirical tattoos, skinny jeans and other vintage accessories. Fashionable people are often devalued for their lack of originality, and they embrace the appearance of imitating the historical period they have never experienced. As Jake Kinsey wrote ironically in the entire satirical book: … creativity, genius, eternal value and mystery are inseparable from fashion.
Pursuit of authenticity
Authenticity is a controversial word, but if we consider it as “authorship”, then the third owner, owner and client who are independently owned and operated can feel the sense of ownership and reciprocity, which is better than the chain operation. Another channel offers much more authenticity. Although some trendy businessmen working in high-end inner cities do not work well in the outer suburbs, the people living in these suburbs are different. The desire to leave home, participate in social activities, and meet or “get together” in the community is not limited to the inner city. There is no reason for people in the suburbs not to respond to independent businesses, but there is no response to the rationalization of franchise rights (see “McDonald’s”) for remote control of so many suburban shopping centers.
The third-place quality is equally important in the outskirts of the periphery, and the suburbs are becoming more diverse in terms of life stages, ethnicity, culture and type of employment. So what is the solution?
Real estate developers often point out quickly that local retail is not economically viable in new suburbs unless the retail store consists of supermarkets and fast food restaurants and is surrounded by aprons. The price of a local (walking) retail store is always compared to a large non-personal shopping mall that attracts suburban shoppers. But the temptation to shop in a small local area is another proposition, where “third place” businesses such as bars, cafes and restaurants, and community centers can operate at affordable rents.
This is not a new suggestion. Various models have been proposed to subsidize retail rents, provide independent freehold or control rents for individual retail locations. Developers have been reluctant to help because it is (for them) unprofitable. Local authorities are also reluctant to engage with developers in this regard. However, there are some encouraging exceptions. Some of the more open-minded developers saw the continuing benefits of creating a community center. The argument is for the benefit of society, not pure economic interests. The outer suburbs and the inner city are different in space – historical and late capitalism have paid attention to this. Local authorities need to consider the current rigid zoning system and how to encourage small, socially beneficial businesses. The suburbs will not be emptied during the day. In an aging society after work, the suburbs will become a barren place to live in society, unless there is an active distribution center, people can leave the private sphere of their homes and meet each other in a pleasant environment that makes people feel creative.
