[Alberta's Child]

The biggest contributor to the decline of the shopping mall was the development of the “big box” store model that replaced the indoor mall. The “big box” shopping center concept was designed to eliminate indoor corridors and open spaces. This helped address two of the major flaws of the indoor mall:

1. It dramatically reduced costs for the mall owner by reducing indoor spaces outside the revenue-generating stores.

2. It discouraged casual shopping by forcing customers to travel directly to each store rather than wandering aimlessly between them without buying much merchandise.

And, yes — the elimination of indoor corridors and atriums also eliminated congregation spaces for mutants and thugs.

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Good post. I think Amazon also made a big difference.