Hamilton, Mark, "The Suburban Mall: Its Changing Form and Life Cycle: A Planner's Perspective on the Issues"

Recent trends in mall development are forcing urban planners to reassess their traditional view of the suburban retail landscape. The planning profession is largely unaware of contemporary shopping preferences, and continues to reinforce an outdated retail hierarchy.

The shopping mall is one of the most common features of the North American suburb. Following a gradual gestation period in the first half of the twentieth century, this land use has grown phenomenally since 1950. Today, few suburbs are unserved by these centres of conspicuous consumption.

After an era of frenetic growth, the suburban shopping centre has began a new period of consolidation and change. A restructured economy, changing demographics, and altered lifestyles are contributing to a rapid evolution of the shopping centre form.

This transformation is taking two distinct forms. On one hand, many new shopping centres are offering a "bare-bones" approach to design and merchandising. This strategy satisfies consumer demand for value and convenience. However, the concept is challenging traditional planning approaches to retail development. A second trend is the development of multi-use suburban centres Many regional malls are diversifying from their retail base, and offering a variety of uses, such as offices, community facilities, and transit centres This approach offers the advantages of intensified use, accessibility, and functional diversity.

Despite the proliferation of malls, developers are continuing to initiate new projects. However, most activity relates to the renovation of existing shopping centres. Chapter 4 discusses the "life cycle" of malls, and outlines the renovation process. Chapter 5 traces the evolution of four Halifax area malls, and explains how these properties are responding to retailing trends. In addition, a number of other North American shopping centres are previewed throughout the thesis.

Planners should accept the features of the new retail landscape, and work to improve these new shopping centre forms. Also, greater efforts must be made to reinforce the positive features of existing malls, such as mixed use and semi-public space.

Atlantic Planners Institute

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This document was last modified on November 14, 2000.