Informal Assignment #5: Valley Fair

Ever since I was a young child, going to Valley Fair was always a very big deal. Being raised in South San Jose, going to Valley Fair felt like entering a whole new world because the mall that I am used to, Oak Ridge, is completely different from Valley Fair. Over the years Valley Fair has always been changing becoming the ultimate luxurious mall in the area, but one thing that remains the same is how I get treated when I show up and walk around the mall. Speaking for myself, I noticed that the people that shop and even sometimes the workers at Valley Fair are very stuck up and smug people. They look at me like I am from a different planet or I am not supposed to be in “their” mall. Maybe it is because they are not used to seeing a black person walking around the mall since the area that the mall is in is predominantly white and Asian. Going to the mall this time was a little bit different. Not only was I observant of the type of people walking in the mall but more observant and cognisant of the store placement and the whole structure of the mall all together.

            I never noticed how Valley Fair was set up before we were assigned this assignment. First of all this mall is huge! If you have not been there before or have not been there for a while you could get easily turned around and confused. On the first floor they have nice sit down restaurants and the flooring throughout the mall is all tile and it gives you a luxurious, royalty type of feeling.  I feel they do this because all the high in stores are on the first floor like J. Cole, Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, etc. What all of these expensive stores have in common is that it has two entrances, one in the back that opens to the parking lot (with valets) and the other to the inside of the mall. This is for the people who are in a rush and just want easy access to their designer store with out all the fuss with the common people inside of the mall. While this is happening on one side of the mall, on the other side is basically the children’s section. The people who designed the mall strategically placed the play area with all the children stores away from the expensive stores.  I feel they did this to keep the little “rugrats” out of the way causing havoc as far away from their money makers as possible. Very clever. On the second floor it is completely different. Notably, the whole second floor is carpeted! You’re asking yourself “Why would they do this?” Well it is easy to see that they set it up this way because the second floor is catered to the younger population. Teenagers can be seen running in and out of stores like American Eagle, Zumiez, Abercrombie, and Forever 21. Also there is the food court on the second floor…the main hangout spot for all teenagers.

            Although I may not agree with how the mall is set up, I feel that it makes the people of the mall comfortable. It is easy for the consumers of the community to fit into the part of the mall where they feel the most comfortable. For example: More of the teenage stores are on the second floor along with the food court, so once they are done window shopping they can go straight to the food court to purchase cheep food or just sit a talk at the tables. Another thing that I noticed about the mall store settings is that the stores geared toward bigger people (basically women), they are placed right next to the food court, and so once they come out the store they can take a few steps over and have Cinnabon. The reason why I don’t agree with how the mall is set up in terms of the stores is that it creates a type of class system within the mall and we already deal with that in the real world. It keeps people in their certain ranks or groups, teens with teens, wealthy with wealthy, middle class with middle class, etc. If the mall is supposed to be like a Heaven, then everything should be all shuffled together with no segregation.