That's what Richard Reep proposes in this article looking at reuse options for vacant retail properties from strip malls to megamalls.
Reep believes that consumerism isn't about to come back in the way it once was, and manufacturing is better for the economy anyway:
"Production, much more than consumption, creates jobs, and the raw open space of old retail sites can be easily converted into industrial uses. Geography is in their favor. Malls were typically built if at least 3,000 surrounding households could be found to support them; today these households could provide labor, instead of cash, to the right investor looking to onshore a product."
"Florida," writes Reep, "with its abundance of unused retail space, has an opportunity to become a leader if it can attract the right kind of investor."
FULL STORY: Pimp My Stripmall, Please!
Shifts in Shopping: Transforming Malls Into Parks
Maybe zombie malls still have a second life — one with a little greenery.
Mall Redevelopment in Silicon Valley
Dead malls across the Bay Area are being transformed into R&D centers, housing, and transportation hubs.
The Mall Is Dead — Long Live the Mall
The American shopping mall may be closer to its original vision than ever.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
The New Parisian Hearse is a Bicycle
Sleek, silent, and sustainable, a green trip to the graveyard has hit the streets of the French capital.
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.
City of Moreno Valley
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland