I think the anti-mall narrative is generally misplaced. Suburban malls were a mitigation of sprawl but are somehow viewed more as a direct symptom. Strip malls

I think the anti-mall narrative is generally misplaced. Suburban malls were a mitigation of sprawl but are somehow viewed more as a direct symptom. Strip malls continue to thrive, and the form where there are residences atop the commercial storefronts does little to improve the need to flit from parking lot to parking lot like consumerist pollinators. In Austin, there’s a huge amount of development at the mixed-use outdoor Domain, some calling it a second downtown. Yet, the thing is peppered with crowded roads. And, it does little to escape triple digit temperatures. It isn’t much of an improvement. Enclosed urban shopping areas have been around for a long time, from covered arcades and indoor markets to underground malls in cities. The PATH system in Toronto and RESO in Montreal create decentralized malls that are also ways to navigate a city on foot. Their creation was likely due to harsh winters more than concern about pedestrian traffic mixing with vehicles. They are, admittedly, kind of ugly and sometimes claustrophobic, but they are functional. I know there are underground malls in Manitoba cities for similar reason, but have never been. I love transit oriented developments like the little villages along the MAX light rail in Portland, but I don’t think there’s any where near enough momentum to spark a fully transit based pattern of development like there has been in Japan. (Some possible reasons/differences are covered in https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146520307067 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235214652...)