It'd need some reworking, but malls could make excellent community squares as they are today, espcially in places with lots of inclement weather. Retail for co-op based crafts people, add community services, and keep/redevelop the food court and you gotta stew going. Maybe make everything a little more cozy inside as well, to whatever extent possible.
The major changes need to come on the outside. Make large tree/shade covered outdoor plazas near the entrances, and build medium density housing on top of the parking lots out front (what's that, like 10,000 people or so?). Make sure there is plenty of public transit access in one corner of the development so that residents can get to/from other parts of the city and call it a day.
this is basically what shopping malls are like outside of the US in any semi developed lib state like Germany. the mall is a human concept dating back millennia to the bazaars of the middle east BCE. amazing how far we missed the mark by putting them in the middle of fucking nowhere surrounded by acres of hot disgusting asphalt that will make you heatstroke on your way to the entrance on a crowded day
Hey, I love by black oil deserts full of air and noise pollution that also have 2 ton metal vehicles flying by at unpredictable speeds along unpredictable paths!
Turn it into a huge communal space. Part library, part cafe, part just sitting area.
idk let's serve free simple meals, I feel like free simple meals at every corner of the city would make me a happier man
I saw some cool pictures some time of a mall in Malaysia or Singapore that had been turned in to some nice apartments
Not the person but this is a video I've seen before show the idea. It's a neat idea to be able to reuse the land that's already been constructed. the strips in the middle make for an interesting idea to add foliage/greenery to make the area more pleasant. Although to have your only window being the shopfront isn't my jam personally.
One stop shop for in person gov't services. The mall can be where the library is, the post office, the goverment walk-in clinic, halfway housing, DMV, food rescue bank, career services, courthouse, etc.
