Mumbai is a city which changes every minute with a large no. of people reaching there with their hopes and desires. The picture/environment of the city is created by the assemblage of different people coming from different places and merge into the one.
The system of transportation, which is very prominent and a unique feature of the city, binds the people of Mumbai together. This system creates accidents for communication between people, who belong to different groups, different class and different mindset. It also generates relationship between people and the means of transportation like relation between people and train, people and bus etc. The environment at railway station, which is a part of a routine of almost all residents of Mumbai, is created by people come there for a particular train at particular time and also the desire to take that particular train because of certain reasons like reach at certain place by certain time, other known people travelling in the same train etc. The communication amongst these groups is very easy and natural. Here groups are created by same train, same station to take train from, same station to get down to etc.
Local railway stations are planned with the idea to communicate the activity, performed in its environment, at its fullest. The distinction between different bogies like first class/ second class/ general class/ unreserved/ for disabled/ for luggage etc. suggests the system in which activity is and should be performed. This also suggests the group it can cater to and also the relationship between travellers travelling in the same bogie. These groups also suggest the behaviour of the travellers.
The time is valued in this city and finely subdivided into the structure which reflects the value of time. The definition of distance has changed in this city because of the transportation system. In Mumbai people do not measure distance by metres/kilometres but by time they take to reach that much distance, which gives the idea of communication between people and time.
Else than railways buses, auto rickshaws, taxis are also available transport means in Mumbai, which suggest other groups of short/long distances, expenses through these mediums etc. Thus meanings of these mediums depend upon the use they receive.
Mumbai railway stations express the time they were built in, through the construction and the physical characteristics of the place. The materials mostly steel, cast iron with sloping roof communicate the meaning of relation between city with its industries. The materials, sizes, maintenance give spatial meaning to the place and also communicate the group of and no of people using the place. This gives the identity to the place and cues to use the same.
The pubs/discs and other spaces reflect the lifestyle, status and other variables of the people of the city. The social context of particular can be decoded and can be positioned in certain group to communicate. The city accepts many things like dark/shabby wine shops, pubs/lounges, homosexual relationships, large no of discotheques and truly become a metropolitan city. In these environments the social status, hierarchy, ethnicity, glamour side of the city is more evident than the communication between different groups of people although these environments help the particular group to grow.
The languages in the city also give cues for the kind of environment created for particular group of people speaking Marathi/hindi/English. The city inherit Bolywood-largest cinema industry of India adds the fling of glamour which impacts the clothing of people. Moreover being a metro city brands from outside India have reached and established certain kind of fashion statement. This clothing of mass, clothing of certain class/status gives cues of the environment of the city.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
MALLS
Today, malls have become essential public place, not only for economic transaction but social interaction and public communication also. Metro cities in India have fast developing economy and therefore place like shopping malls, multiplexes, pubs, discs and other high profile entertainment places too.
Malls too like any other public place, have a degree of hierarchy of privacy or levels of social interaction; vis-a-vis most open, semi open and private spaces depending upon degree of interaction, social position of the customers visiting and type of activities happening within.
People presenting or visiting the malls are identified to which group they belong to by the social behaviour decisions they take and meaning interpreted out of the cues which they give or perceive.
Although people coming from different layers of the society at malls have different notions of social behaviour and the settings in which their environment has existed, gives the different notions of coding or decoding the cues and take the decisions of appropriate behaviour, accordingly.
Certain kind of habits which gives notions for behaviours right at public places have been encultured into us from the experiences we get around and that sets the hints for decoding the settings and remembering them. At places like malls these notions help us to behave with the degree of some decency, playfulness and mannered behaviour which identifies our position in society and starts our interaction and communication with people from another group of society like mall staff, shopkeepers etc.
Certain symbols of built environments like materials, signage, zones, circulations etc set the cues for customers which over a period of time gets generalised and give meanings that help to decode the cues which are useful for appropriate behaviour next time at next mall. They become mnemonic.
Once a person belonging to certain group is identified by the society; with the help of cues that his appearance and attributes of character exert, it becomes easier to take decisions of the extent and patterns of communication to be made with him by the third person. Costume being the first element of creating impression, to a great extent, it defines the person’s position in society. These judgements about the person include economic and education level, social position, sophistication, heritage ,character and success.
Depending upon these judgements for a particular person, with the interpretation from his behaviour ,other people decide their patterns of behaviour and then communication happens or does not happen.
e.g. if a person with high social and economical status , goes to a mall with old or unwashed cloths, the cues his or her appearance give out to the people, generate certain impression about him on the working staff ; which makes them take decisions about his social position, ability to spend and sophistication; these decisions will put him in to a category of group which similar people belong to. Considering this, the attendants or shopkeepers are going or not going to pay him attention or required service and that will decide the degree of communication between them . On the other hand, person who is really not interested in buying, or doesn’t have capacity to spend, can create better impression by his appearance and interaction level with him could be higher. But ultimately ; the accent, body language, educational level etc are going to help in better communication will make the position of the person more clear.
To avoid this confusion, more than appearance elements, it is important that environment itself gives the cues to people through symbols and medium of indirect communication that will help them to decode the meanings through previous knowledge of them and settings about the space will be clearer in their mind which will help them to notice, understand and obey the rules and restrictions made by the space and required for the activities happening to be right. These cues are generated from space organisation, taxonomy, services, degree of the space use and so on...
For different people coming from different context, these cues may vary individually; but after having visited similar places with frequent time intervals , one derives common meanings implied for the symbols and learns to decode or encode them easily. After certain visits to similar places, the settings and appropriate behaviours gets encultured into his mind and next time one behaves without even noticing cues and taking decisions about the behaviour and still gets his position defined right and appropriate communication happens.
Malls too like any other public place, have a degree of hierarchy of privacy or levels of social interaction; vis-a-vis most open, semi open and private spaces depending upon degree of interaction, social position of the customers visiting and type of activities happening within.
People presenting or visiting the malls are identified to which group they belong to by the social behaviour decisions they take and meaning interpreted out of the cues which they give or perceive.
Although people coming from different layers of the society at malls have different notions of social behaviour and the settings in which their environment has existed, gives the different notions of coding or decoding the cues and take the decisions of appropriate behaviour, accordingly.
Certain kind of habits which gives notions for behaviours right at public places have been encultured into us from the experiences we get around and that sets the hints for decoding the settings and remembering them. At places like malls these notions help us to behave with the degree of some decency, playfulness and mannered behaviour which identifies our position in society and starts our interaction and communication with people from another group of society like mall staff, shopkeepers etc.
Certain symbols of built environments like materials, signage, zones, circulations etc set the cues for customers which over a period of time gets generalised and give meanings that help to decode the cues which are useful for appropriate behaviour next time at next mall. They become mnemonic.
Once a person belonging to certain group is identified by the society; with the help of cues that his appearance and attributes of character exert, it becomes easier to take decisions of the extent and patterns of communication to be made with him by the third person. Costume being the first element of creating impression, to a great extent, it defines the person’s position in society. These judgements about the person include economic and education level, social position, sophistication, heritage ,character and success.
Depending upon these judgements for a particular person, with the interpretation from his behaviour ,other people decide their patterns of behaviour and then communication happens or does not happen.
e.g. if a person with high social and economical status , goes to a mall with old or unwashed cloths, the cues his or her appearance give out to the people, generate certain impression about him on the working staff ; which makes them take decisions about his social position, ability to spend and sophistication; these decisions will put him in to a category of group which similar people belong to. Considering this, the attendants or shopkeepers are going or not going to pay him attention or required service and that will decide the degree of communication between them . On the other hand, person who is really not interested in buying, or doesn’t have capacity to spend, can create better impression by his appearance and interaction level with him could be higher. But ultimately ; the accent, body language, educational level etc are going to help in better communication will make the position of the person more clear.
To avoid this confusion, more than appearance elements, it is important that environment itself gives the cues to people through symbols and medium of indirect communication that will help them to decode the meanings through previous knowledge of them and settings about the space will be clearer in their mind which will help them to notice, understand and obey the rules and restrictions made by the space and required for the activities happening to be right. These cues are generated from space organisation, taxonomy, services, degree of the space use and so on...
For different people coming from different context, these cues may vary individually; but after having visited similar places with frequent time intervals , one derives common meanings implied for the symbols and learns to decode or encode them easily. After certain visits to similar places, the settings and appropriate behaviours gets encultured into his mind and next time one behaves without even noticing cues and taking decisions about the behaviour and still gets his position defined right and appropriate communication happens.
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