Westfields Shopping Centre Possibly Most Vibrant Shopping Experience in Europe

A while ago I have written about Westfield's Shopping  Centre on this blog.  My impressions were sceptical, as I thought it to be a gift to the Chelsea and Kensington clique.  Certainly the management had targeted the high as well as the upper middle income classes, car owning and spending happy, as its most desired clientèle.  After two and a half years of break I revisited the  centre yesterday and I was astonished that I found a centre that certainly not owned by that clique.  The main users of the centre appeared to be the entire population of the Shepherd Bush surrounding areas.  London's diverse populus at its best.  Brands and names after all do matter also to people less affluent. When I went to Deichman, a German shoe chain specialising in affordable shoes, there was a queue of 20 people at least, so people do buy also sensibly. Other busy shops included the Apple shop, Topshop and many other familiar global names.  Of course one can make an argument of the destruction of local markets, and most certainly against the global chains, but actually we combined Shepherds Bush African market with Westfield's, and without Westfield's we would not have gone to Shepherd Bush market.    I can not help but saying that shopping at Westfield's was pleasant due to its ingenious design, but mostly because I saw everyday people there and not just the target elite. There was something of the German and American shopping centre within.    On the other hand it is quite obvious that most smaller independent shops would find the rent levels of Westfield's insurmountable.  But if it's one of the chain stores you are after, Westfield's beats Oxford Street and Regents Street 100 percent in comfort plus being fully accessible to people with disabilities.  The centre's ground staff, part security, part info guides are great.  They know the entire building and the location of its shops by heart.  There are kids areas, well kept toilets and plenty opportunities to sit down and rest.  If there is a blueprint for a shopping centre, this must be a good example, but of course people like me ought to hate shopping centres, the enemy of all that is local and neighbourhood like.  But isn't the little  shop owner, and especially in London often over-charging. also at times elitist?  I will be back at Westfield's I am afraid, because I like convenience and organised shopping and encounter the astonishing diversity of Londoners whilst doing so, and in safety - the later you can not get from ordering online, so in that sense it still brings people together in a public sphere.   Oh dear! Where is this going!?  I promise I will stop by at  Portobello Market to pick up my Organic Vegetarian Take Away on my way to or from Westfield's.