Group Post- Walkabout #1: City Creek Center

By: Kristan Farnsworth

For our first walkabout we went to the new City Creek Center downtown. City Creek is a brand new mall that opened last March. It is unique to Salt Lake because it is an indoor/outdoor mall. It has a retractable roof that opens when the weather is nice, or can be closed when it is cold.

City Creek is a very publicly accessible place. We rode Trax to get there which was extraordinarily easy since there is a Trax stop right outside our dorm, and another stop running through the middle of city creek.

From left to right: Alysa, Lisa, Kaitie, Kristan, Hailey

We spoke to one of the guards about the type of people that come to city creek and how they dress. He informed us that the people dressed casually for the most part, but it does vary widely. Some people come straight from the temple across the street, and others are homeless. The different stores also play a factor in this. The more expensive stores such as Tiffany and Co. tend to have more nicely dressed people than stores such as H&M.

The variety of stores cater to all economic echelons, so we saw people from all economic levels, however the shoppers were mainly middle to upperclass.

City Creek is very family oriented and also socially segmented. The only place we saw people interacting was around the main fountains when their children were playing.

Otherwise, people tended to stick with there groups and mind there own buisness.

It is apparent that this is a public space due to the layout of the mall. There are two main circles with fountains and food areas that are connected by a pathway that is lined with stores. The path has a river running down the center making it seem more natural and visually inviting.

It is quite easy to find your way around City Creek thanks to the simple layout, but if you do need help finding your way there are security guards, directories and pamphlets to guide you.

The security guard we spoke to told us that outside vendors, panhandlers, and unlicensed performers are not allowed inside the mall. We had also heard that Homosexuals and the scantily clad are asked to leave. We decided this called for investigation, so Lisa and I held hands as and walked up to the security guard and spoke to him.

We were not asked to leave, however this may be because we were not convincing enough. We drew the line at holding hands, so it may be that much affection is allowed. We were also a group of girls asking him odd questions about the mall, so I think he might have been on to our experiment.

Hailey also wore short-shorts and a tank top, and she was not asked to leave either.

Although this is a place open to the public, we are hesitant to call it a true "public space" since it is owned by the LDS church and caters to a certain population. A true public place is somewhere where all people should feel welcome and have a sense of belonging. Well City Creek is very welcoming to the certain crowd, it is a selective environment where certain people may feel outcasted. Due to the LDS religious beliefs, the mall is closed on Sundays. The church also has the power to dictate what is acceptable. This ownership makes City Creek a private place that is open to the public, rather than purely being public.