A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain retail units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit.

Strip malls have developed since the 1920s, corresponding to the rise of suburban living in the United States after World War II. As such, the strip mall development has been the subject of the same criticisms leveled against suburbanisation and suburban sprawl in general. In the United Kingdom, these are called retail parks, out-of-town shopping centres, or precincts.

Regional differences

In most of the world the term shopping centre is used, especially in Europe and Australasia; however shopping mall is also used, predominantly in North America, but also to a large extent in Asia. Shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In North America, the term shopping mall is usually applied to enclosed retail structures (and may be abbreviated to simply mall) while shopping centre usually refers to open-air retail complexes.

Malls in Ireland, pronounced "maills", are very small shopping centres placed in the centre of town. They average about twenty years in age, with a mix of local shops and chain stores. These malls do not have shops found in the high street or modern shopping centres.Fact: date=August 2007

Shopping centres in the United Kingdom can be referred to as "shopping centres", "shopping precincts" or just "precincts", but with American-style centres becoming more common in the UK, the term "mall" is gradually growing in use, at least among the younger generation.

History

Isfahan's Grand Bazaar, which is largely covered, dates from the 10th century A.D. The 10 kilometer long covered Tehran's Grand Bazaar also has a long history. The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul was built in 15th century and is still one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets and 4000 shops.