Retail Shifts Toward Livability, Says Mixed-use Expert

"In the last 10 years there’s been an assault on the model of the shopping mall. We’ve seen 'power centers,' 'category killers,' outlet malls, urban entertainment centers. And now there are lifestyle centers, though there’s not a lot of life going on there, and very little style. There are over 2,000 malls in America yet there are only two new ones under construction. The length of time that people stay in the mall is lessening each year and is now down to much less than an hour. Meanwhile, in the past five years, retailers, department stores, and mall owners have all been busy consolidating, buying one another and not paying attention to their customers."