Changing American Shopping Mall into Mixed-Use Developments
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Date
2020
Authors
Doyne, Rachel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon
Abstract
For decades, the promise of a new shopping mall was a catalyst for economic growth, often a driver of suburban housing development and a symbol of modernity. Today, consumer habits have changed. The suburban location and traditional retail tenants that defined shopping malls are less desirable. Shifts in retail behavior, accompanied by a resurgence of downtown districts and an increased demand for urban housing, has led to community planning strategies that emphasize compact development and mixes of retail and residential land-uses. The convergence of these changes and ideas is represented by mall-to-mixed-use developments. These part-mall, part-community projects are being proposed by private developers and approved by public officials as the way to breathe new life into dying malls, reactivate a valuable geographic location and introduce new benefits and revenues to the community. The questions become how to balance the community’s objectives with the developer’s need to earn a profit, and what public planning mechanisms contribute to this ideal outcome? Using content analysis to compare five case studies, this report finds characteristics that are common in mixed-use developments, explores the tension between the developer’s objectives and the community’s expectations, and describes how policies and incentives can influence housing and community collaboration in mall-to-mixed-use developments.
Description
103 pages
Keywords
Mall redevelopment, Mixed-use, Smart Growth