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This quaint little area, called Azabu Juban, was once a bastion of solitude, with tiny little shops selling all of the necessities of everyday life and each shop focused on one theme: the electronics store, the pet store, the toy store, the sweets store and the hand-made noodle shop.

All had been owned and operated for generations by families that lived either nearby or above the store.

 However, over the past few years the subways have come. Two lines, bringing loads of local tourists. And of course, with the new train lines came new urban plans with ubiquitous shopping malls stretching over countless acres of land.

On this most recent trip, I was shocked to find that on streets leading to the new mall, many local stores were shuttered or had been replaced by mega-chain coffee shops that served up rewarding experiences but hardly a delicious coffee.

Watching the rumbling Ferraris and Maseratis circling the streets of this once quiet enclave in search of parking spaces where they could be seen from every angle, I was forced to ask myself: when did I become so old as to dread progress? Or when did progress cross the line and become progressively problematic?

Have I become so old-fashioned and curmudgeonly that I actually become saddened by the sight of an old "mom and pop" store being pushed out to make way for a mega shopping complex with the golden arched M? (Or has that been usurped by the golden LV?) As a marketer, I completely understand the desire for expansion, but as a citizen I cannot understand the need for more of the same luxury handbag shop sitting side by side with another hamburger outlet.

As we look forward to 2009, my wish for Thailand is that land owners and developers will resist the temptation to further add to the demise of the community at large and reconsider plans for mega-malls. What we really need are individual community malls where local residents can shop, eat, gather for leisure and, well, just be communities. Perhaps urban project developers should be looking to virtual communities in cyberspace, such as Facebook and Hi5, for answers. Therein lie the future consumers who will either support or reject their projects.

I'm far too old to be considered part of a target market for a shopping complex. However, I believe that new consumers don't want mega, they want manageable. They don't want to be dictated to, they demand discovery, and most importantly, they don't need a circus when all they want is a community.