In the 1980's people wrote about malls as cultural centers, as temples to shopping. Now, they're dying.
Many observers are speculating about the growing trend of so-called dead malls: once-flourishing, large retail spaces that now have a high vacancy rate, low numbers of pedestrian traffic, or the lack of an "anchor" store (typically a department chain). Is it because of economic recession, or stagnant middle-class wages and growing income inequality? Or has the death of these malls been hastened by the rapid growth of online shopping?
It's difficult to say, but the dead mall phenomenon is becoming a cultural item of interest -- for retail historians, urban explorers and documentarians alike. We may read about dead malls in The New York Times or The Atlantic, but film footage can say much more than words.
Is Amazon to blame?
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday April 25 2017, @08:40PM (1 child)
It must be the malls in your state. The malls in my area (northern VA) have lots of expensive chain restaurants (Legal Seafood for instance), and other non-chain ones.
Of course, the best restaurants are the non-chain ones in "old town" downtown areas, but those are hard to get to because of parking.
(Score: 1) by fyngyrz on Tuesday April 25 2017, @10:31PM
Yes, we definitely don't have Legal Seafood here, and yes, I'd go for that. Touché.