What to do with an empty mall?
How vacant lots in shopping centres are being turned into an opportunity.
US shopping malls, once an icon of American life, are in decline. There are now just 750 shopping centres, down from 2,500 in the 1980s, according to analysts. The malls that remain often have a lot of empty space鈥� it鈥檚 estimated that there are also 750 large department store lots in the country standing vacant.
But where there is change, there is also opportunity.
After Burlington High School in Vermont had to close its doors because dangerous chemicals were found, the school hopped into a site vacated by Macy鈥檚 department store five years earlier. The children now ride the escalator to class. Elsewhere, malls have been converted into offices, theatres or large healthcare facilities. We explore the surprising second life being offered to these temples of consumerism.
