Retail Traffic Magazine reports that the indoor mall, long declared dead, has weathered the storm of the recession better than expected -- and better than many retail concepts imagined as the next big thing.
Elaine Misonzhnik writes, "In the first quarter of 2010, regional malls posted an average vacancy rate of 6.0 percent, a 130 basis points below the vacancy rate for specialty centers and 170 basis points below the vacancy rate for U.S. retail space overall, according to a report from the CoStar Group, a Bethesda, Md.–based research firm."
Why? One interviewee explains that many traditional malls were built at a time when the prime locations were still available and they continue to benefit from the demographic draw.
Read the full story: Developers Rethink the Mall for the 21st Century
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Satanic place names
From streams and lakes to valleys and canyons, I mapped more than 1,000 places named after the Devil.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority