I've never really liked shopping malls to be truthful, they don't have a lot of soul or individuality to them, and the handy car parks (read: always busy and extortionately expensive) inevitably bring out the worst in people when trying to get in and out.
Therefore, i'm not particularly saddened to read in this interesting article in the NY Times, that with the recession in full force in the US, and malls and large out of town stores closing at a rapid rate, and new and interesting uses of the vast space that they accommodate (the USA has six times the retail square footage of Europe) are being proposed.
The crux of this change in usage is that the malls have the opportunity to move from shrines of pure consumption (retail) to spaces where the community and brands have the opportunity to create centres of learning and promote the sharing of ideas (services).
So, whereas in the recent past only the largest flagship stores of multinational brands (for example Apple), have had the capital to invest in expensive retail space purely devoted to workshops and services, the abundance of cheap, accessible space has opened up the opportunity up for greater brand funded learning or services.
So for example; could Google create a Digital School in malls for senior citizens or those with limited access to the Internet, or could Health Insurance companies create free branded gyms for its members to stay healthy and keep their premiums low?
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