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."
Read the full story: Pimp My Stripmall, Please!
Thousands of new homes are replacing Orange County's dead malls
Southern California cities are adjusting their zoning codes to support mixed-use and residential developments that are replacing dying shopping malls.
You Can Live Inside America’s Oldest Indoor Shopping Mall
The Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island, first built in 1828, was redeveloped into 48 micro-housing units.
Shifts in Shopping: Transforming Malls Into Parks
Maybe zombie malls still have a second life — one with a little greenery.
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.
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.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
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