Malls

Interior of Walmart store with "Low Price $6.98" sign in foreground

The Walkable Urbanism of Big Box Stores

For residents of many U.S. small towns and exurbs, the local Walmart offers a surprising benefit missing elsewhere in their communities: walkability.

August 6, 2023 - Discourse Magazine

Aerial view of suburban Sterling, Virginia near Washington D.C.

Retrofitting D.C.’s Suburbs for a New Era

How to equip suburban sprawl for a different future.

July 2, 2023 - Greater Greater Washington

Rendering of lifestyle center mixed-use complex

The Evolution of Retail Centers

Catalytic developments initiate economic and cultural improvements.

June 30, 2023 - Kurt Volkman

Four people playing pickleball on outdoor court

Can Pickleball Save Dying Malls?

The popular sport is getting backlash for taking over parks and other facilities. Now, the industry is partnering with mall developers to transform old department stores into pickleball courts.

May 29, 2023 - ABC 7 NY

Westminster Mall facade, Orange County

Orange County Developers Eye Dying Malls for Housing, Mixed-Use

As indoor malls lose their luster, their properties offer convenient amenities and infrastructure perfectly suited for redevelopment into housing, parks, and retail.

February 27, 2023 - Los Angeles Times

Books

The Top Urban Planning Books of 2022

An annual list of the must-read books related to urban planning and its intersecting fields.

November 28, 2022 - James Brasuell

A map highlights Cutler Bay, located in South Florida along the Atlantic coast.

$1 Billion Redevelopment Planned for a Former Mall in Cutler Bay, Florida

Mall not making money like it used to? How would a $1 billion redevelopment sound?

September 22, 2022 - Globe St

Vacant Sears in suburban mall

A Second Life for the American Mall

‘Dead’ suburban malls, with their existing infrastructure, offer a variety of opportunities for redevelopment into everything from housing to parks.

June 12, 2022 - The New York Times

End of the Mall

Dead Mall? Convert it to a Health Clinic

Closed and struggling malls around the country are being repurposed as healthcare centers.

April 27, 2022 - Fortune

Tysons Corner

Rethinking Retail Space in the Wake of COVID-19

As e-commerce boomed and people sought outdoor shopping and dining options, the pandemic accelerated the decline of massive, merchandise-oriented retail spaces and indoor malls.

January 12, 2022 - Bisnow

L.A. Mall Purchase Would Be the Biggest Victory Yet for Community-Driven Development

The Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw Plaza mall is 41 acres of prime commercial real estate in the nation’s second largest city. When the mall came up for sale last year, a group of residents decided to shoot for the moon and started organizing to buy it.

April 7, 2021 - Next City

Department Store

Phoenix Mall Sold for Mixed-Use Redevelopment

The former Paradise Valley Mall will undergo a conversion to a mixed-use community with homes, offices, and stores.

April 7, 2021 - CNBC

End of the Mall

Can Mall Redevelopment 'Urbanize the Suburbs'?

Local leaders in Virginia are banking on mall redevelopment projects to revive their tax bases and create more mixed-use neighborhoods.

April 2, 2021 - The Virginia Mercury

Charlottesville Downtown mall

Post-Pandemic Era of Shopping Malls Creates Opportunities for Downtowns

The COVID-19 pandemic and massive mall-retailer closings has left millions of highly skilled workers from the retail and food and beverage industries unemployed and eager to work. Many will seek to open their own businesses in downtowns.

June 1, 2020 - ASLA The Dirt

Retail Uses

A Death Knell for Department Stores

The latest chapter of the retail apocalypse is not a happy one.

April 23, 2020 - The New York Times

American Dream Meadowlands

American Dream Mall, Delayed Due to Coronavirus, Will Open Testing Facility

Delays have been part of the story with the American Dream mall in New Jersey since its earliest inception, and the mall has been lauded in the past for evolving to match the American retail landscape.

April 16, 2020 - Business Insider

End of the Mall

The End of the Mall? Navigating the Shifting Retail Landscape

More online shopping means fewer consumers are spending money at brick-and-mortar stores, with suburban malls hit especially hard. But municipalities are looking for creative strategies to navigate a post-mall world.

December 27, 2019 - Land Lines

Empty Mall

New Lives for Dead Malls

Suburban malls around the country are shutting down, and the huge spaces offer a variety of opportunities for creative reuse.

November 30, 2019 - The Washington Post

Tysons Corner Parking Lot

Reducing Parking Requirements for Huge, Regional Malls

Fairfax County, Virginia is considering a change to its parking requirements that would lower the number of parking spots at large malls like Tysons Corner Center and Tysons Galleria.

October 15, 2019 - Tysons Reporter

Third Street Promenade Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pedestrian Mall Wants People to Hang Out

Updates are coming to the Third Street Promenade as it seeks to innovate the retail experience.

March 20, 2019 - Los Angeles Magazine

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Top Books

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The best of the Internet—since 2002.

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Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.