The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall

The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.

2 minute read

March 21, 2024, 8:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


View form second story inside Southdale Mall in Edina, Minnesota with escalators and model cars parked on downstairs floor.

Southdale Center in Edina, Minnesota is the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States. | Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons / Southdale Mall, Edina, Minnesota

In a piece for Governing, Alan Ehrenhalt describes the history and potential future of U.S shopping malls through the lens of two books, Alexandra Lange’s Meet Me by the Fountain (one of Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2022) and Kate Black’s Big Mall.

Each book, in its way, responds to the original vision of Victor Gruen, known as the father of American malls. Gruen saw the mall as a place to bring people together.

But if modern shopping malls failed to achieve Gruen’s vision of rewarding community, it’s important to remember that they are profoundly social institutions. This has been true from the very beginning, in ways that Lange and Black document quite precisely. And the current plight of the mall points toward a more public future in which local governments will inevitably play a crucial role.

The decline of the mall in recent years may ironically be the key to getting closer to Gruen’s vision as mall owners and cities reimagine the properties to serve new needs. “In perhaps the most startling transformation, Gruen’s Southdale Center in Minnesota, the first of the fully enclosed malls of the 1950s, is being re-created as a multipurpose development that includes luxury hotel rooms and apartment complexes, a fitness center in place of a defunct J.C. Penney store, medical clinics and day care for children, and a variety of other public and private properties.”

Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Governing

courses user

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges. Corey D, Transportation Planner

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges.

Corey D, Transportation Planner

Ready to give your planning career a boost?

Graphic with blue background, flags, and text reading 2024 Presidential Election

Where 2024 Presidential Candidates Stand on 12 Issues Important to Urban Planners

Whether you’re yet undecided or have already cast your early vote, here is a roundup of the key positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on important urban planning policies.

October 31, 2024 - Planetizen

Amtrak Coast Starlight passenger train passing over bridge in Altamont Pass, California.

Amtrak Expanding Service in California’s Central Valley

Amtrak is planning a major expansion to the passenger rail lines connecting the Central Valley and the Bay Area.

November 4, 2024 - The Modesto Bee

Commercial street in small rural U.S. town with storefronts and clocktower.

Progressive Planning in Ideologically Conservative Communities

Planners must work in diverse political environments including conservative jurisdictions that are skeptical of new issues and perspectives. Here are ways to reconcile conflicting goals.

November 7, 2024 - Todd Litman

Aerial view of rainbow painted four-way crosswalk in the Castro district, San Francisco, California.

San Francisco Implements ‘Daylighting’ at Intersections

Vehicles are prohibited from parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk as part of the city’s Vision Zero efforts to eliminate traffic deaths and make roads safer.

4 hours ago - SFGate

View of Washington state capitol dome in Olympia, Washington at golden hour.

Washington Voters Keep Carbon Tax

An initiative that would have ended the state’s “cap and invest” program failed, leaving the program in place.

5 hours ago - Governing

Close-up of four Tesla sedans parked and plugged in at charging station.

The Future of Electric Vehicles Under Trump

Will Elon Musk’s influence temper Trump’s anti-EV stance?

6 hours ago - Wired

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.