As I am sure many people who frequently visit Kingston have discovered an increasing number of shops have been shutting down recently, to many, very strangely. However, I know why.


I have seemed to notice over the years that more and more people are visiting Kingston for whatever reason. Either by bus or car or any other means of transport. Yet the most interesting thing was that most people left empty handed after visiting a multitude of different shops. And after some thought and discussion I came to the conclusion that it was due to the rise of online shopping. Those people probably came into Kingston to find the store they were looking for and looked for whether or not the had their desired item in stock and if they did not, which probably is what happened, they would go back home and then order it online. 

So, as more shops are closing, there is a greater likelihood of less people going to Kingston therefore returning it into its original state, full of independent and local shops. This is good for a number or reasons. Firstly, as Kingston was gaining more popularity, a huge amount of surface area has been sacrificed for more roads for more cars coming in and out of Kingston. Resulting in greater pollution levels in the area contributing towards global warming. Hopefully, as the town quietens down there will be less cars and pollution. Secondly, I have always believed that Kingston is an ‘overrated’ place, I never thought it was very special, all I knew was it was a good destination for shopping and stocking up on provisions. There is a quote that I believe sums up this situation Kingston is having: “Every time a civilisation reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance” - Liam Neeson (as Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins). What this means is that Kingston is at the peak of its evolution and it is time to restart and return to before. In other words, Kingston has become so busy and chaotic that it has reached the pinnacle of its importance and now it is no longer needed due to online shopping.


Will Nunn