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How to Build a Better Shopping Mall

Provided by: Grist |Published on: April 27, 2021

Videos

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Synopsis

This video from Grist describes how many shopping malls in America are now defunct and offers solutions for revitalizing the land into more useful and green spaces for the surrounding communities, using Seattle's Northgate Mall as an example.
By describing the original vision for a shopping mall to be multi-use and more like a town square community area for gathering, the narrator is able to convey the opportunities for revitalizing these defunct areas.

Subjects: Geography, Engineering

Authors: Grist

Region: Washington

Languages: English

Positives

Students can relate to the idea of shopping spaces and hangout areas, but this video will help them to consider the ideas and design that are behind the spaces in which they spend time.
This video is an interdisciplinary example of how engineering, science, economics, and geography come together to influence the human experience.

Prerequisites

It will be helpful for students to have been to a shopping mall before. Poll your students on shopping mall attendance, and if they aren't familiar, introduce the concept through videos and pictures.

Differentiation & Implementation

Have students imagine different possibilities for spaces that are underutilized in their community by assigning a design challenge with the goal of increasing community engagement in these spaces.
Other resources that relate include Benefits of Urban Trees, A Healthy Economy Should Be Designed to Thrive, Not Grow, and the Parking Mandates Map.

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Resource Type and Format

All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.