In the last twenty years, the European city has seen incredible speed in the development of suburbia. 

In the wake of the post-war reconstruction of the city, where vast tracts of land were claimed by developing industries, there came a period of rapid rise in the development of high-density suburban shopping malls, megastores and hypermarkets. 

The ’new man’, now the ’new consumer’, accompanied by his most revered possession, the Car (’the sacred cow of western civilization’), recognised the opportunity for endless indulgence in the most pleasurable pursuit of all – shopping, without having to worry about finding a spot to park.