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.

2 minute read

June 1, 2020, 10:00 AM PDT

By gibbsplanning


Charlottesville Downtown mall

littleny / Shutterstock

An article by Robert Gibbs, FASLA, for The Dirt, is sampled here. For the rest of the article, click on the link below.

Since the earliest human settlements, the retail experience has evolved to meet the needs of the public. This evolution has taken us from rural markets to towns, cities, suburban shopping malls, big box mega stores, and, more recently, the Internet. But what will retail shopping look like once COVID-19 lock downs are over and people return to the wild for their shopping experiences?

When all the dust settles, the post-pandemic era should provide a boost to downtown areas, in part due to newly unemployed but highly skilled restaurant and retail workers opening new businesses in downtowns where rent prices will trend downward.

***

Downtown shopping districts will capture traffic from fading malls

Malls will struggle in the wake of COVID-19. Being inside an enclosed bubble will not be the ideal situation for most shoppers for the foreseeable future. Morning Consult reports that 24 percent of U.S. consumers fear shopping in malls for at least the next six months due to the COVID-19 threat.

As an article about a newly reopened mall in Atlanta explains, the experience won’t be very welcoming in the near term. Play areas are roped off, water fountains covered, and stores are limiting the number of shoppers due to social distancing. Add in the inconvenience factor, and it’s clear why so many malls are facing a reckoning in the coming years.

As regional malls continue losing consumers due to changing shopping habits and fears of COVID-19, an excellent opportunity presents itself for villages, towns, and cities to regain their dominance as thriving centers for retail and entertainment.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020 in ASLA The Dirt

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 14, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

"Units for sale - contact your local realtor" sign in front of homes.

‘Displaced By Design:’ Report Spotlights Gentrification in Black Neighborhoods

A new report finds that roughly 15 percent of U.S. neighborhoods have been impacted by housing cost increases and displacement.

2 hours ago - Next City

Turquoise blue Pyramid Lake near Reno, Nevada.

Nevada and Utah Groups Oppose Public Land Sell-Off Plan

A set of last-minute amendments to the budget reconciliation bill open up over half a million acres of federally managed land to sales.

3 hours ago - Inside Climate News

Alpine Recreation Center sign in park in Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA.

More Than a Park: A Safe Haven for Generations in LA’s Chinatown

Alpine Recreation Center serves as a vital cultural and community hub in Los Angeles' Chinatown, offering a safe, welcoming space for generations of Chinese American residents to gather, connect, and thrive amidst rapid urban change.

4 hours ago - American Community Media

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.