Dead Malls Predicted the Erosion of Public Space in America

There’s a million memes, jokes, and videos about dead malls but the fervored discussion conceals what we won’t say out loud: cities and suburbs alike are losing places we can socialize and foster communities.

Licensed via Adobe Stock

I was inspired to write this after I read this brilliant and heart-rending piece by Jacqueline Dooley.

Malls Were Probably Never a Good Idea (Why I’m Sad Mine is Gone)

I’ve been following the dead mall phenomenon for years myself. I’ve written about it for current and previous columns, like the mass repurposing of abandoned malls for housing and VR experiences.

As someone who spends a lot of time deciphering the epidemic levels of Millennial loneliness and feels like facepalming every time yet another thinkpiece comes out proclaiming that social media is making us miserable and we just need to go out and talk to people again — they’ve forgotten how it’s not just the ways that we use technology that cause us to be hyper-intimate yet complete strangers…