ABSTRACT
The commercialization of children’s space has become a new global trend. Child-oriented malls represent a new form of commercialized urban space and reflect neoliberal space production that privatizes and materializes the urban environment lately seen in some Asian countries. Examining the first child-oriented mall in Shanghai, we argue that the development of child-oriented malls has been shaped and sustained by dynamic relations – including the dynamics between the state’s intention to revitalize local economies and the developers’ goal to optimize profits; and the interactions between capital, education reform, and the intensive parenting style. The flourishing of child-oriented malls may leave limited agency for children and disadvantage children with lower socio-economic status and reinforce class inequality. China has made child-friendly cities a state strategic focus since 2016. The utilization rate of child-friendly facilities is not high, and highly commercialized space will continue to be popular if the current relationship between the state, capital, and families persists.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank editors and reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. We also thank professor Jie Chen, Professor Yingfang Chen and Professor Jufen Wang for their valuable comments at the workshop ‘Placing Family at the Centre of Urban Governance’ at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (June 2021).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).