Mark Dery looks back at the birth and death of the mall, from Victor Gruen to the present collapse, then beyond to proposals for reusing and revitalizing mall spaces.
Dery writes, "Brimming with evangelical zeal, New Urbanists are exhorting communities with dead malls to reverse the historical logic of Gruenization, turning malls inside-out so storefronts face the wider world and transforming them into mixed-use agglomerations of residences and retail; repurposing parking lots into civic plazas; infilling the dead zones that surround most malls with transit-accessible neighborhoods checkerboarded with public spaces (a rare commodity in sprawl developments),and weaving the streets of said neighborhoods into those of the surrounding suburbs."
Dery goes on to look at the more fantastical ideas of the finalists in the 2003 Dead Malls competition sponsored by the Los Angeles Forum for Architecture and Urban Design.
FULL STORY: Dawn of the Dead Mall
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.
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.
On the Life Cycle of Suburban Malls
Using Greenwood, Indiana as an example, Eric McAfee discusses how the value of individual suburban malls depreciates over time. Shiny new shopping centers compensate for inevitable vacancies in older ones.
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.
Car Noise Is Killing Us
It’s not just traffic collisions that kill—a new study from researcher at Rutgers finds that the loud noises emanating from cars has direct impact on heart health in Americans.
Parks as a Weapon Against Climate Change
The 2022 ParkScore finds that cities are increasingly employing green space as a tool for mitigating heat and extreme weather effects, but the distribution of parks remains inequitable.
Louisiana Capital Shifting to Electric Transit
The Baton Rouge area is now served by a fleet of nine all-electric buses.
New Community Engagement Practices for Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan Update
A major update of Seattle’s comprehensive plan is just getting under way, with new opportunities for local groups to get involved with outreach and engagement.
City of Malibu
EMC Planning Group Inc.
Jefferson Parish
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
City of Lakeway, Texas
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.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
