Name: What America's shopping mall decline means for social space
Uploaded: 2018-04-07T15:04:47.000Z
Duration: 5 min 7 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Between 1970 and 2017, the number of American malls quadrupled.

Population didn't even double in the same time frame.

About a quarter of the malls could close in the next 5 years.

Some people call this the death of the mall — and that's kind of true.

And the 'third place'... well that's anywhere outside of those two.

There are 8 qualities that make for great third places:

It sounds kind of academic, but trust me you know it when you see them:

The best “third places” invite conversation

And lots of time can be spent without spending much money

These are places where people can exchange ideas, have a good time, and build relationships.

Their brand new suburbs lacked quality third places.

So he designed the first enclosed shopping mall.

The world's most fabulous shopping center...

The format caught on like wildfire, fueled by tax incentives for new developments — that

Soon, they were being built by the dozen.

Over the next 50 years there were over 1000 enclosed shopping malls scattered across America.

Along the way, they became the hangout for American youth.

The thing about that is, even Victor Gruen admitted his design was a monumental failure.

Because when you look at the qualities of great third places… malls deliver on some,

And they're accessible no matter the weather.

But on the flip side, you can't really walk to the mall — you need a car.

And once you're there, conversation should be the main activity.

Third places should make everyone feel equal.

The mall, by contrast, is more fun for the rich.

Now contrast that with a different take on the third place — the National Mall in Washington

You can visit with a short walk, or by public transportation.

This adds up to an environment that fosters... community.

When you look at these two side by side, which would you choose?

while some malls are being repurposed, others are just getting torn down...

This is in part because of the recession in 2008; people had less money to spend.

While more than 90% of purchases in the US are still made in physicals stores… more

Our relationships and connections are going digital as well.

More than 3 in 4 people in the US has a smartphone.

When social media is used to actively connect with others, it can be like a digital “third

But studies like this one show that some digital communication can affect your mental or even

The mall occupies a unique space in America's conscience.

And that's largely because we have an innate need for face-to-face contact.

And in some areas, the mall was that place.

But as more malls shut down so too are other third places, and the replacements often have

But there is a better way — consider the public beaches of downtown Detroit, or the

redevelopment of Bryant Park in New York City.

Or, you could just support a locally-owned coffee shop.

So the decline of the mall doesn't need to be the death of the third place –it's

up to us to decide where those spaces will be.