More apparel sales will move online, and department stores will continue to struggle in 2017.
Credit Suisse predicts that 2017 will see more store closings than any year in 2000s. "About 3,600 store closings have been announced this year. Credit Suisse estimates that about 8,640 stores will ultimately close by December," Hayley Peterson writes for Business Insider.
These closings would hit malls harder than other store locations, in part because of recent trends toward more shopping at discount stores, which are traditionally located outside of malls. The bank estimates a quarter of malls will close in the next five years.
FULL STORY: Wall Street bank says a quarter of shopping malls will close in 5 years
The End of the Mall? Navigating the Shifting Retail Landscape
More online shopping means fewer consumers are spending money at brick-and-mortar stores, with suburban malls hit especially hard. But municipalities are looking for creative strategies to navigate a post-mall world.
Innovative Approaches May Save Physical Retail
In places like San Jose, "new approaches to the storefront" are paying dividends for physical retailers willing to experiment.
Ross May Be Immune from the Amazon Effect
Ross Stores continues its expansion in the face of a much-foretold retail apocalypse. The shopping experience it provides may be one reason it can stand up to Amazon.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
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.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association