10-13-2021, 04:58 PM
(10-13-2021, 02:13 PM)ijmorlan Wrote: Thanks for thinking of me! Interesting article. I will say I like the idea of having more activities integrated — the idea of being able to step out of a store and take a break in a park right there is very attractive. I still say that I consider this sort of amenity mostly orthogonal to whether or not there is a roof there, especially if we specify that there might not be walls (porticos/arcades, rather than fully enclosed corridors).
And regardless of how it ends up looking, if they are now actually thinking about pedestrian access more that will be a distinct improvement. There are lots of existing malls which are unpleasant to approach on foot, which of course even the vehicle drivers have to do once they have parked.
Since I'm feeling anti-establishment today I'll point out also that a big difference between malls and parks is ownership. Malls exist for the exclusive benefit of private property owners, who may choose to open the space to (elements of) the public for their own benefit. Parks exist exclusively to benefit the public.
This is of course all in theory, and in practice there is some blurring. But I think it's an important feature, because in some ways, it probably matters more than whether there is a roof (see for example, the equivalent example of skyways vs. sidewalks).