The suburban shopping mall was supposed to evoke a European city center, even though its inventor Victor Gruen air conditioned the first one in 1956 to a perfect "Eternal Spring" temperature of 75 degrees. By the 70s indoor shopping malls were proliferating and by the 80s they were tightly woven into the American culture. But, according to this week's Economist, "Just as the onward march of malls began to seem unstoppable, things began to go wrong." Instead of "temples of consumption," they became "receptacles for social problems," and by the 90s malls were in trouble. "Having bred too quickly, they began to cannibalize each other. As middle-aged shoppers disappeared, teenagers, with no shopping agenda, became more evident. And as suburban populations grew more diversified, malls no longer were "safe" havens for white suburbanites. "Although Gruen could not bear to admit it, his invention appealed to those who wanted downtown's shops without its purported dangers."

As many malls die, the lifestyle center or simply streets -- imagine that! -- are taking their place. They don't have roofs or controlled temperatures, but they may still have fountains and piped music. The Economist lauds Rick Caruso as the new Gruen, as he expands his Southern California collection of shopping centers (or streets, as he calls them). Caruso attempts to create a "festive, holiday atmosphere which people go to, hang out in and end up spending money. He also claims his creations are more "real" and authentic than conventional shopping centers. "Like Gruen, he claims to be trying to create not just profitable shopping places but also more perfect city centers."

But The Economist points out one crucial difference between Gruen and Caruso. "Gruen wanted to improve upon the American city center by modernizing and Europeanizing it. Mr. Caruso, by contrast, looks to the past. He has tried to re-create a kind of prelapsarian downtown where there is no crime or homelessness.

"His romantic evocations of city centers are possible only because people have forgotten what downtowns used to be like."

daver, December 24, 2007

These "lifestyle centers" are funny. Instead of building new fake downtowns maybe retail vendors should look to our cities and open there stores in real downtowns.

Link: http://thereidplan.blogspot.com

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