When people first started building malls, they had no way of knowing that dramatic shifts in technology and consumer patterns would destroy their business models. What they should've known, though, was that betting all their funding and economic stability on a single project was a bad idea. Let’s not repeat their mistakes.
Read MoreThere’s a certain artistic quality to abandoned spaces—but if we look a bit deeper, these ruins also hold lessons about patterns of disinvestment and policy shifts that have adversely affected American communities.
Read MoreYet another failed mall (this time in Milwaukee, WI) proves to be a drag on—and an active harm to—its surroundings.
Read MoreWhat’s the most suburban kind of place you can think of? If you said an outlet mall, you’re probably not alone. Is there a path to incrementally retrofit these malls to a more human-scaled environment… and even if there is, is it worth the trouble?
Read MoreA failed mall can feel like a monument to your community’s economic failure. A presidential hopeful has an idea to bring them back to life. But is it a good thing?
Read MoreThe shopping mall, an icon of America’s suburban experiment, has fallen on hard times. But don’t start cheering; that doesn’t mean we should assume that one comes next will be a better deal for communities.
Read MoreThe more we invest in something, the harder it becomes to walk away. Yet, we need to walk away from a lot of what we’ve built.
Read More
