The Intersecting Cultures Of Starbucks And Airport

1595 Words7 Pages
The evolution of built environments has seen a major change during the 21st Century in our sense of place, space and community. Cultural shifts have occurred because of new technologies and the way we work and play. One such shift is in today’s emerging airport marketplaces and how certain retailers, such as Starbucks, can connect their market niche and culture in these big-city airports with a community atmosphere. If I were the CEO of Starbucks, I would definitely invest franchise space in these modern airports because of the shared vision of fashioning comfortable and entertaining spaces and bridging the “third place” environment. Both Starbucks and modern airports want to offer high-quality and innovative products in an inviting and relaxed atmosphere. This paper discusses the features of Starbucks and the newly emerging airports, how their cultures intersect, and why they are suitable for each other. The growing number of facilities not directly related to actual transport functions makes many airports today agglomerations that could at least be called spatial, if not urban. Airports have been traditionally non-places. They are simultaneously a commercial marketplace, a transitional space, and a non-place. However, airports are becoming more like downtowns every year. The modern airport is finding a new way of defining community. It is possible to fly somewhere and never leave the airport environment. They have post offices, supermarkets, movie theaters, ATMs, chapels, stores, and restaurants. By adding cafés, social activities, and other amenities, they take on features of an actual city. And like the Internet, airports are part of an endless global network. These new airports are typically referred to as an Airport City. It has urban characteristics associated with old city centers. It is being built to generate new sources of revenue and make
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