The advent of the car culture in the twentieth century has contributed to the success and rise of the modern era of the shopping experience outside city centres. Malls became the reference point for millions of people in North America as suburban areas grew, establishing the new ‘American Dream.’
The reason malls became a popular phenomena can be described by the vast geography offered in North America with a seemingly infinite supply of land to develop, as well as a never-ending amount of collectors and highways to connect homes to commercial venues. With plenty of sites to build indoor shopping centres unaffected by weather conditions and downtown parking restrictions, the mall became a staple reference not only from the retail point of view but also socially, as entire generations of people spent their weekends surrounded by clothing, shopping, and food courts.
For centuries, the traditional structure of the independently-owned shop in the city represented a major point of interest for the purchase of food, house essentials, fabrics, and general hardware. This retail formula changed with the advent of mass private transportation after World War 2 by having families move outside the cities into low-density urban spaces. This goldmine of population stimulated the popularity of shopping malls and frequently a needed space for those towns placed far away from metropolis. Rural inhabitants had access to fashionable items and alternative food experiences that would normally only be found in big cities.
Shopping malls exist because they thrive on the convenience offered to suburban families to meet all their needs in one place with a free parking spot, cheap meals, and entertainment for their kids. This is an important social and psychological element that has been able to drive profits for many malls, with thousands of people visiting each day to buy merchandise or just to socialize. The latter is an interesting aspect that demonstrates a peculiar propensity for social gathering among peers in order to connect. Europeans shop while enjoying their afternoons sitting in their public squares, in contrast to Canadians and Americans who do the same but at the food court of their local mall.
Today the position of the mall as the retail centre of people’s lives has changed. It no longer represents the fulcrum of the weekend existence among teenagers and young adults but rather an alternative. The mall is no longer the shrine on which society relies for purchases and fun; as commercial online platforms like Amazon have begun to cater to suburban citizens, it has increased in popularity as a fast and more affordable alternative.
Retail in North America is facing harsh times with big names like Nordstrom, Sears, JcPenny, and Target experiencing foreclosure across major cities in the wake of financial restructuring mandated by out-dated strategy plans. These companies did not adapt to the 21st century of online retail business. As of 2018, shopping malls continue closing across Canada and the US, leaving large real estate properties abandoned. The slow death of the shopping mall occurred as the Internet began challenging traditional retail systems by providing alternative goods at attractive prices; however, the other reason that not many talk about is that society is tired of artificial indoor environments and crave more authenticity.
The vast real estate that is encompassed by shopping centres symbolizes the splurge of wealth during a favourable mid-century period of economical stability in the West; however, these structures are soil-consuming entities which work best in the suburban environment and are fit for the average family bearing the 2.5 kids ratio. Malls were not designed to be environmentally sustainable, but rather represent the total isolation from the outside to maximize the indoor shopping experience, removing any sense of time (much like a casino would do). The abandoned commercial buildings might have a future that can lead the urban design of municipalities in changing the way roads and pedestrian areas are placed. Large malls can be reengineered and become residential areas with shared green zones, allowing for more outdoor activities.
Once the mall closes, it will take years before its fate is decided, and in the meantime, such urban volumes become crime-ridden very quickly. Boarded up and vacant structures become attractive hiding spots for criminals to thrive, while people experiencing homelessness sneak in to spend the night away from the cold, reducing the property value around the area and impacting the neighbouring community. Local economies suffer the most as independently-owned stores lose customers and close down due to the establishment of malls in the area. The dark comedic element is watching the kids of ‘mom and pop’ shops going to work for the minimum wages for one the retail franchise inside the mall, and author James H. Kunstler describes well this phenomena in his 1996 book Home From Nowhere.
City halls cannot fathom the end of an era based on car culture and credit card sprees. This has resulted in an unresolved plan to address the issue of commercial spaces in need of a second life: how can they be redeveloped into better spaces? The answer is to first acknowledge the mistakes in building shopping centres without understanding their behaviour. Second, these colossal structures affect entire communities by influencing the overall urban design and local economies; highways, ramps, collectors, are all built to accommodate the malls and traffic.
To tackle this urban issue, it is necessary to revitalize the decaying and abandoned buildings by turning them into public centres, concert halls, art galleries, libraries, schools, and healthcare clinics can all replace the abandoned floors of shopping centres in order to create a valuable hub for the community that can be experienced at a whole new level of urban design.
On the left, the current void shopping centres leave once they’re abandoned. On the right, the proposed revitalization of the same area tailored to the human need. (Image by Galina Tachieva DPZ Partners).
This will be the most ambitious yet environmentally sustainable solution to amend the problem. Wide sidewalks shrouded by trees will host small business owners with their cafes, pubs, and eateries, available for citizens to enjoy outdoors instead of being cramped inside food courts. These new public spaces won’t need cars to be reached anymore, as they will be supplied by public transportation, connecting people from all over town. Once the urban landscape of decaying malls is over we can implement a more organic redevelopment of city blocks to make them resemble more human than anything else, allowing people to reclaim their streets and their communities.
By Carlo Ienna, Experience Designer
Please note that opinions expressed are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views and values of The Blank Page
