United States is a country of shoppers, leaving hundreds of malls scattered around the country surrounded by fields of parking, waiting for the 30-year lifecycle to run its course.
When the economic crisis hit in 2008, it became clear that it wasn't just the economy that was dependent on retailer's success, "public spaces" were also dependent. As malls close, the gathering spaces that offered a privatized version of the so beloved "public sphere" close as well. This thesis argues that the decline and fall of these "public spaces" resides in the mall's monofunctional nature and isolation.
This thesis proposes a methodology of mall reanimation that transforms the inherited concept of the mall as a space of consumption into the mall as a place of production. Finally, this thesis aims to offer a capitalistic view on sustainable and profitable development that questions the ultimate form of suburban sprawl and land subdivision.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:RICE/oai:scholarship.rice.edu:1911/62193 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Source Sets | Rice University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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