Communities make surprising use of shut-down malls: 'The mall is becoming cool again'

Online shopping has made it difficult for brick-and-mortar shopping malls to survive. But some communities have plans to breathe new life into abandoned shopping centers. 

Many localities are transforming old malls into mixed-use facilities, cultural venues, and even apartments, per Rethinking The Future.

If you've been to a shopping mall lately, you've probably witnessed fewer stores and quieter walkways compared to the bustling activity of just 10 to 20 years ago. 

According to Capital One Shopping, about 87% of large shopping malls are projected to close within the next 10 years. 

And when people no longer visit malls, more and more retail stores close up shop. This leaves behind sprawling buildings with no purpose. Instead of tearing down malls and starting fresh, communities across the world have gotten creative. 

Some of the ideas for old malls include offering free medical clinics and K-12 schools, as well as creating coworking or meeting spaces for businesses. 

Transforming malls into green spaces has also become more common in urban areas, beautifying the areas and offering locals a break from concrete and buildings. 

Green spaces help mitigate the urban heat island effect, which can make dangerous heat waves worse and increase health issues for vulnerable residents. 

In Orange County, California, shopping malls are evolving into multi-purpose centers with living units and entertainment spots. In turn, these projects address the need for housing and area revitalization, reported NBC Los Angeles.

On Instagram, o23 EcoTech (@o23ecotech) posted that some malls have become indoor farms that can produce fresh food all year round without having to deal with increasingly unpredictable weather conditions. 

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It's not just abandoned shopping malls that can become an agricultural dream. Empty office spaces and vacant retail stores also provide enough space for these operations to thrive and bring food security to nearby communities. 

Repurposing old buildings, known as adaptive reuse, is much easier on the environment than building new, which is another outcome many mall sites have seen or have in the plans, such as a major project to replace the Galleria Mall in White Plains, New York, with over 3,000 apartments across seven high-rise towers, albeit with some regaining of public green space in an area currently full of concrete.

According to the World Economic Forum, adaptive reuse results in a reduction of up to 70% in carbon pollution and significantly reduces waste. As much as 90% of materials are also capable of being salvaged and reused. 

"The mall is becoming cool again," Jacob Knudsen, the vice president of development for Macerich, a retail real estate development company, told CNBC. "So being able to live by it, work by it, play by it, go to restaurants by it, we're definitely seeing this as a trend."

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