The impact of shopping malls on Jordanian traditional retailers: A case study of Amman downtown

Shopping centers have become a notable place in the city in terms of architectural form and services and easy access. Shopping centers are the new lifestyle in modern cities, the entertainment gather services and trade in one compound, which works on reformulation region’s nature, it offers an attractive service for citizens and accessibility, but nostalgia for the traditional markets including the originality and the spirit of the place still attracts people to experience. However, Amman city witnessed a significant shift in developers’ and designers’ attitudes about building malls which influenced the success of all traditional marketplaces and shopping habits. Proximity in time and location, as well as a lack of planning techniques, accelerated the growth of new malls, resulting in the degradation of street markets and traditional retile patterns in Amman city. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of the transition from the downtown shops to the shopping centers on the social life and Urban fabric as well as giving recommendations to reduce the negative impact of shopping centers on Amman city fabric. Results indicate that besides the site communities or districts, the growth of shopping malls on particular sites or places followed no plans, regulations, or restrictions. There were no studies or master plans that provided developers with suggestions or forecasts about how their malls will alter consumers’ attitudes or behaviors, old markets or old malls, or the nearby or far urban vicinities and surroundings.