The future is strip malls
The future of strip malls Compared to enclosed malls, strip malls are performing well. Medical, health and beauty services ethnic restaurants and artisanal coffee shops now fill them. Architect Ellen Dunham-Jones describes the movement to retrofit strip malls in a Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/ellen_dunham_jones_retrofitting_suburbia?language=en#t-131366 Strip mall rents are usually lower than other types of retail space, and are actually trending cheaper. In the US as a whole about 25% of new businesses are immigrant-founded, and immigrant-run restaurants are buoying the strip-mall sector.