The Bachelor’s thesis examines the impact and consequences of the shopping centre Europark on the city centre of Maribor and the lives of people in Maribor. The thesis focuses on what the local residents of Maribor think about Europark and how they experience the impact of the shopping centre in their daily lives. With the examination of professional literature, interviews and participatory observation, the thesis provides in-depth insight into listed issues. Moreover, we present a historical overview of Maribor’s trade development as well as show the shopping centre from a global and local perspective as a cultural phenomenon; furthermore, we reinforce and integrate these topics with the understanding of the development and transformations of (consumer) Slovenian society. The research shows that people have very different views of Europark; some interviewees clearly show enthusiasm for it and some are more critical about the shopping centre being in the immediate vicinity of the old city centre. The shopping centre is a space that offers an alternative to retaining and socializing for people in the city centre, as it is easily accessible and attracts people for a variety of reasons, not just for shopping. Therefore, the proximity of the shopping centre to the city centre is the focus of the problem that is considered in the thesis. One of the most important effects of the shopping centre on the old city centre may be the decline of the smaller local shops and the decay of the old city centre. The results from the fieldwork show that people increasingly perceive the shopping centre not only as a place for shopping but also as a place for socializing, especially for adolescent and older generations of people in Maribor.
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