How to Build a Better Shopping Mall

Videos

Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Geography, Engineering

Scientist Reviewed

Provided by Grist

Open Resource

What it is

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.

Teaching tips

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.

From the scientist review

This video resource does not have any science to review. However, it is true that the shopping mall is in decline in America, offering up an opportunity to do something new and innovative with their massive footprints. This resource is recommended for teaching.

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At a glance

Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Subjects: Geography, Engineering
Format: YouTube Video
Language: English
Location: North America > United States > Washington
Provider: Grist
Authors: Grist
Published: April 27, 2021
Last updated: July 16, 2026
: Reviewed by our climate scientists How we review

Standards alignment · 8.2.8.NT.1: + 5 more

New Jersey Climate Education Hub

Computer Science & Design Thinking

8.2.8.NT.1:Examine a malfunctioning tool, product, or system and propose solutions to the problem.
8.2.12.ED.1:Use research to design and create a product or system that addresses a problem and make modifications based on input from potential consumers.
8.2.12.ED.5:Evaluate the effectiveness of a product or system based on factors that are related to its requirements, specifications, and constraints (e.g., safety, reliability, economic considerations, quality control, environmental concerns, manufacturability, maintenance and repair, ergonomics).

English Language Arts

SL.II.7.2Analyze the main ideas and supporting details presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how the ideas clarify a topic, text, or issue under study.

Science

MS-ETS1-1.Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
HS-ETS1-3.Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.

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