Abstract
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.
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