Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Collection of independent retail stores, services, and parking areas constructed and maintained by a management firm as a unit. It is a 20th-century adaptation of the historical marketplace. In the U.S., postwar migration from cities to suburbs and increased automobile use created a perceived need for centralized shopping facilities. The urban shopping arcade developed out of the need for shelter from the weather; Buffalo, N.Y., and Cleveland, Ohio, have charming trussed and glass-roofed examples. The next generation of shopping malls, the large regional centre sited in a vast sea of parking lots, bears little resemblance to its small, arcaded ancestors. Two of the world's largest malls are the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. In recent years large shopping malls have attempted to revive an arcadelike atmosphere, often featuring atriums and balconies.
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Imaginary point where the total weight of a material body may be thought to be concentrated. Since weight and mass are proportional, the same point may also be called the centre of mass, but the centre of mass does not require a gravitational field. A body's centre of gravity may coincide with its geometric centre, especially if the body is symmetric and composed of homogeneous material. In asymmetric, unhomogeneous, or hollow objects, the centre of gravity may be at some distance from the geometric centre or even at a point in space external to the object, such as between the legs of a chair.
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Neighbourhood social-welfare agency. The staff of a settlement house may sponsor clubs, classes, athletic teams, and interest groups; they may employ such specialists as vocational counselors and caseworkers. The settlement movement began with the founding of Toynbee Hall in London in 1884 by Samuel Augustus Barnett (1844–1913). It spread to the U.S. in the late 19th century with the establishment of such institutions as Chicago's Hull House (founded by Jane Addams). Many countries now have similar institutions. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, U.S. settlement houses were active among the masses of new immigrants and worked for reform legislation such as workers' compensation and child-labour laws.
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Grouping of municipal facilities in a limited precinct often adjacent to the central business district of a city. The civic center is based on both the Greek acropolis and the Roman forum. The plan includes the city hall and adjoining park or plaza, headquarters for city departments, courthouses, and often a post office, public-utility offices, public health facilities, and government offices.
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