Dead Malls
The Evolution of Retail Centers
Catalytic developments initiate economic and cultural improvements.
Can Pickleball Save Dying Malls?
The popular sport is getting backlash for taking over parks and other facilities. Now, the industry is partnering with mall developers to transform old department stores into pickleball courts.
To Meet Housing Goals, California Cities Turn to Mall Redevelopment
As brick-and-mortar stores decline due to the rise of e-commerce, cities look to mall sites as ideal locations for new housing.
A Second Life for the American Mall
‘Dead’ suburban malls, with their existing infrastructure, offer a variety of opportunities for redevelopment into everything from housing to parks.
Dead Mall? Convert it to a Health Clinic
Closed and struggling malls around the country are being repurposed as healthcare centers.
Phoenix Mall Sold for Mixed-Use Redevelopment
The former Paradise Valley Mall will undergo a conversion to a mixed-use community with homes, offices, and stores.
Can Mall Redevelopment 'Urbanize the Suburbs'?
Local leaders in Virginia are banking on mall redevelopment projects to revive their tax bases and create more mixed-use neighborhoods.
New Lives for Dead Malls
Suburban malls around the country are shutting down, and the huge spaces offer a variety of opportunities for creative reuse.
Mall Makeovers Have a Mixed-Use Flavor
Malls in metropolitan Atlanta are thinking outside the (big) box to reposition in the age of the retail apocalypse.
Reclaiming Malls: How About a High-Speed Rail Station?
A Texas mall that opened in 1968 and largely closed ten months ago has been picked by Texas Central Partners as the Houston terminal of the Dallas-to-Houston high-speed rail. The site is far from downtown and distant from public transit.
How To: Makeovers for Struggling Malls
Lean Urbanism recently released a "lean" guide to sprawl repair—focusing on how to bring struggling shopping malls back to life.
On the Life Cycle of Suburban Malls
Using Greenwood, Indiana as an example, Eric McAfee discusses how the value of individual suburban malls depreciates over time. Shiny new shopping centers compensate for inevitable vacancies in older ones.
Life, Death, and Repurposing of the Great American Mall
A PBS Newshour economic correspondent visits the sites of former malls in Ohio and Massachusetts, some successfully repurposed, others in construction, and one in decay, speaking with economic experts along the way about the future of the mall.
Bringing a Dead Mall Back to Life
Five years ago, Graham Weston, the chairman and co-founder of Rackspace, had a wild vision to transform an abandoned mall into his company's headquarters. His unique approach has revitalized the adjacent city of Windcrest, a suburb of San Antonio.
Saving the Mall By Returning to Its Ideals
Stephanie Clifford documents the extraordinary lengths malls across the country are going to in hopes of attracting customers in the face of e-commerce and a battered economy.
Chinese Megamall 99% Empty
New South China Mall in Dongguan, China has been 99% vacant since it was built in 2005. Is Chinese development running amok? Sarah Goodyear looks at a recent documentary that explains why the mall was built.
Could Old Malls Become Manufacturing Centers?
That's what Richard Reep proposes in this article looking at reuse options for vacant retail properties from strip malls to megamalls.
The Detritus of Dead Malls
Photographer Brian Ulrich has been taking pictures of dead mall and big-box retail across the country. The Morning News presents a photo gallery of his work.
The Fall of Malltopia
Mark Dery looks back at the birth and death of the mall, from Victor Gruen to the present collapse, then beyond to proposals for reusing and revitalizing mall spaces.
Dead Malls: Suburban Planning Nightmare or Opportunity?
Failing malls didn’t get into trouble overnight: most began their descent long before the tough climate.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
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