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and sales. In this old institution for symbolic power, visitors may make themselves
temporarily invisible for the overwhelming strategies of surrounding economic
power.
In practice, all spaces of consumption are mixed spaces. Visitors shop but also
stroll around and pass right through without even recognizing that they have crossed
a delimited area, borrow books or read papers for free in the library, rest their legs on
a bench, chat with friends on some corner or look at people over a cup of coffee.
Some do experience the centre as a pure shopping space; others use it as a public,
social or aesthetic space as well. But there is no doubt that commodity consumption
is the activity preferred by the controlling space owners. Ownership of the grounds
and buildings is a key factor for securing commercial hegemony. The progressive
selling out of city centres to multinational shopping centre enterprises shifts the
power balance from the public sphere of the state system to the private sphere of the
market. The private property owners must give maximum dividends to their share-
holders. If art or public services can assist in this, they may be accepted, but as soon
as urban space is sold to private owners, there is no general chance to consider other
values than those of sheer profitability. Nor is a private company responsible to public
deliberation: as long as it adheres to the law, Solna Centre need never defend its
actions in any public arena.
Mostly, the centre company and the city council seem to thrive in perfect
harmony. In August 2001, the Swedish Rodamco manager and the local council chair
and mayor jointly inaugurated an extended part of Solna Centre. The mayor started
by describing Solna city as a pioneer in making the political and private sectors coop-
erate to create a modern and expansive urban environment. The Rodamco manager
congratulated Solna Centre on its enormous success, and said that he remembered
with warm feelings the first time he had met the mayor, fifteen years ago. He
explained that Rodamco was a European-based company with an international
network of shopping spaces, owning twelve shopping centres in Sweden. The foun-
dation for its success had been laid squarely in Solna, he testified, expressing his
gratitude to all who had contributed to this success story: politicians, architects,
consultants, building firms and the owners of enterprises and stores in the centre. He
ended by offering, last but not least, ‘a big thanks to the most important ones: the
shop-happy consumers!’ Then came the usual clipping of red ribbons with both men
happily smiling and shaking hands in front of the eager cameras.
The municipality has sold all ground and property in the city centre to Rodamco,
except for the town hall and the library. This privatization has induced some resist-
ance from left-wing parties who proposed motions in the city council to create prem-
ises for activities for children and young people, as well as a theatre stage, and
protested against the selling out of municipal space to the core company. These
protests have so far all been in vain. The private property owning company won the
definition wars that raged from 1986 to 1993 concerning which social praxis should
apply in the new, glazed-in centre. In a 1986 motion, the opposing left-wing party
feared that ‘an indoor square also presents a threat to democracy, since it may result