SHOPPING CENTER AS LOUNGE AREA: THE CASE OF COURTYARD BELÉM

Abstract

Considering the importance of the shopping mall acquired in today's society, assuming the function that had public spaces such as streets and squares, including leisure activities practices, the central objective of this study is to analyze the uses of malls as social spaces for leisure , from a case study in the mall Patio Belem in Belém, Pará, seeking to identify the leisure activities carried out by different actors and understand the processes of planning and leisure management in this environment. The relationship between leisure and consumption to the space as a place of social relations. The methodology consisted of literature for the construction of the theoretical framework that embasou the desired study. We used interview with the public goer Pátio Belém, with project participants "Active Age" and interview with the space manager. So, are exposed the main points of the relationship constantly evidenced in research on leisure, which deal systematically with its similarity to the social changes that emerge in today's society. Having the shopping mall, as one of the areas where it is apparent that social relations are basically measured by consumption and the search for places where leisure is found safely and comfortably.