The Commercial Landscape as a Medium for the (Re)Production of Spatial Authenticity

Abstract

Businesses, and the commercial landscape as a whole, are an important part of the urban environment. However, in some cases the design of commercial outlets creates “visual noise”; in others it has a depressing resemblance to any other gentrified space. The structure of the commercial landscape and its visual appearance depend largely on whether and how a business uses the idea of authenticity. This paper identifies the range of manifestations of authenticity (re)produced by the commercial landscape in various spaces of the city of Novosibirsk. This article presents the result of a theoretical synthesis from the concept of Lefebvre. It is considers how, in the process of producing space, a business turns to manifestations of authenticity, which can be based on the potential accumulated in the material environment of space, or can be based on ideas about the style and innovation of the tastes and lifestyles of city residents.