Salon recently published an excerpt of a new book, “The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving,” by Leigh Gallagher. The excerpt can be found here.
The article discusses the dramatic increase in suburban poverty in recent years; the number of poor living in the suburbs increased by 53% between 2000 and 2010.
An interesting part of the article addresses the decline of the traditional enclosed shopping mall. Ms. Gallagher points to the startling fact that “[o]nly one enclosed indoor shopping mall has opened in the United States since 2006.” On a more positive note, she points out that some developers have turned moribund enclosed malls into open, new-urbanist “lifestyle centers,” restoring the street grid and combining retail, residential and office uses. As an example, she cites the redevelopment of the Villa Italia Mall in Lakewood, Colorado into Belmar, a project developed by our client, Continuum Partners. Her description is worth a read.