A lot of ‘urban planners’ cited in the article.
‘Planners’ usually hat malls and big box stores (I smile when I catch one of our city’s planners in Wal Mart and say ‘hello’...they usually look like a dog that just ate a plate of cookies).
Most failed malls are the result of another mall being built nearby - usually in a ‘better’ area of town. So the failed mall is a symptom of a deteriorating neighborhood - certainly not an indicator that people have tired of malls.
Yes there are some empty stores...in particular the ‘anchor stores’ like Sears and Macy’s are closing at a lot of malls. But the malls aren’t going to suddenly disappear anytime soon.
Your message reminds me that some black entertainer told a joke about malls. He said that every city has a mall where white people go, and a mall where white people used to go. I’m sure he gets lots of laughs with that. But sounds like some truth to that.
We lost Sears and I bet JC Penney isn’t far behind. Online shopping is too convenient.
Four Seasons Mall in Greensboro NC is a good example. Full of nice stores and you can still get a cap busted in yo azz in the parking lot.