By: Stephanie Rouse, AICP

Despite growing up with the mall a very key part of my childhood memories, the adult version of me avoids going to one at all costs. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been to one in the last ten years. As an urban planner I enjoy being in walkable, mixed use districts full of local shops and restaurants. The mall in my mind was never this, however Alexandra Lang’s recent book “Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall,” had me questioning my long held bias. As a planner who regularly considers how built environments shape our lives, this exploration of the mall as both a physical structure and a cultural phenomenon provided unexpected insights into how we might better design our communities.

The mall’s origin story begins with Victor Gruen, a Jewish émigré from Vienna who fled the Nazis in 1938. After establishing himself designing modernist boutiques in New York City, Gruen looked at America’s rapidly expanding suburbs and recognized something crucial was missing: places for people to gather, socialize, and experience community. His vision for the mall wasn’t merely commercial—it was an attempt to recreate the European café culture and pedestrian-friendly town squares he remembered from Vienna. This contradicts the contemporary understanding of malls as purely consumerist spaces divorced from genuine community building.

Perhaps most surprising is the etymology of the word “mall” itself. Derived from the Italian lawn game “Palla Maglio” (similar to bocce and croquet), which became “Pall Mall” in 18th century London, a “mall” originally described the long, narrow grassy area where this game was played. This same basic shape—a long corridor flanked by buildings—evolved into both the National Mall in Washington, D.C. and the shopping mall layout we recognize today. It’s interesting that our most well known commercial spaces are connected to centuries old form of entertainment.

The legal history of malls provides another fascinating lens through which to view these spaces. The 1968 Supreme Court case Amalgamated Food Employees Union v. Logan Valley Plaza saw Justice Thurgood Marshall writing that malls had effectively replaced town squares and should therefore allow for First Amendment activities like protests. Over time, however, this interpretation has been eroded, with most states now prohibiting protests in malls. This evolution parallels our current debates about social media platforms as “digital town squares” and raises important questions about where public discourse can and should occur in our increasingly privatized world.

One of Lang’s most compelling arguments challenges the assumption that online shopping killed the mall. She identifies three key factors in mall decline: online shopping claiming only about 20% of retail (pre-pandemic), the 2008 recession devastating anchor department stores, and simple oversaturation—America has nearly double the retail square footage per person compared to other industrialized nations. This “right-sizing” perspective helps explain why not all malls are struggling; those in the right locations with the right mix of offerings continue to thrive.

For urban planners and developers looking to revitalize declining malls, international examples provide valuable lessons. Malls in Latin America and Asia are typically more vertical, urban, and connected to public transportation—a stark contrast to the isolated, sprawling American model surrounded by parking lots. The most successful mall redevelopments in America are now embracing mixed-use development, essentially “re-urbanizing” these spaces by adding housing, office space, and public green areas in what were once vast parking lots. This approach aligns more closely with Gruen’s original vision of malls as community hubs surrounded by complementary development.

The mall’s ability to serve as a social infrastructure becomes particularly evident when examining phenomena like mall walking groups among older adults. These communities provide not just exercise but vital social connections—connections that were severely disrupted during COVID-19 lockdowns. As we consider what makes spaces inviting and functional, the mall offers powerful lessons: people appreciate climate control, ample seating, accessible restrooms, and opportunities for both planned meetings and serendipitous encounters. These simple amenities are often overlooked in our public urban spaces but prove crucial for creating environments where people actually want to spend time.

As we reimagine our suburbs, downtown districts, and community gathering spaces, the humble mall—often dismissed by architects and planners, myself included, as beneath serious consideration—offers surprisingly relevant insights into human behavior and social needs. By understanding what drew people to malls in their heyday, we can design more vibrant, accessible, and community-oriented spaces for the future.