The Problem With Shopping Malls

Victor Gruen invented the shopping mall with a distinct purpose, but he did not succeed in fulfilling that purpose... What went wrong?
Inspired by:
/ @notjustbikes
/ @citybeautiful
WB Productions will feature video essays, documentaries, explainers, and infotainment on a variety of subjects. Not just urban planning stuff, lol
More to come!

[@for_light_and_life]

The most worrisome part about America’s suburban experiment for me is the fact that it keeps everyone so disconnected and forces people into their own bubbles which in turn leads to more polarization. If the US ever falls, this would be one of the main factors leading to the downfall in my opinion.

[@jesseleeward2359]

Suburbia sucks. That is why I moved to Savannah from Ohio. This is literally Ohio.

[@burtan2000]

@@jesseleeward2359 It's worst in the Rust Belt because so people and money left.

[@jesseleeward2359]

@@burtan2000 they left the cities. The cities are ghost towns. But that us shat happens in countries the scale of USA

[@baldisaerodynamic9692]

because cities suck. over crowded, smelly, over priced, everyone on top of each other.

[@punchkicker3837]

@@jesseleeward2359 Savannah, GA is no different from Ohio idiot. I don't recall a subway system or even light rail for that matter in Savannah.

[@kaw8473]

Our local mall has always blown me away with its incompetence. Their rent is so high that half the floorplan is dead and their idea of attracting customers is remodeling the mall to add/ remove stupid crap every 10 years. How about just lower the damn rents so you can offer people a variety of interesting products at a reasonable price. I'm fired up because it has strung me along for 20 years with false hope that it'll be a fun place to spend a few hours.

[@drivers99]

I miss when you could go there and there'd be things I was actually interested in: an arcade, a book store, a music store, radio shack, video game store, musical instrument store, tropical fish store, toy store (what else am I missing). Those got wiped out by the big box (or become obsolete) like Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Guitar Center, Pet whatever big box store, etc. I guess now they have Lego store (bring lots of money though), Hot Topic (although I'm too old for it really), hmm, Apple Store? haha

[@opheliasrue]

Exactly, I feel like malls die so easily, kids can’t walk there so interesting attractions such as playing at an arcade becomes a weekend treat to drive your kids to, most stores are chain stores that are meant to shove mass produced shit down your throat, and whatever sense of community that the mall brings is just butchered completely

[@lioneldemun6033]

Parking lots of French malls are open air dumps, it looks like nobody takes the responsibility to keep them clean.

[@matxalenc8410]

Providence Place?

[@umchileanyways8603]

same since I live in a rural area in alabama I go to a local mall in georgia and it fucking sucks. I go online shopping and I'll occasionally go there if I really want something that costs half the price

[@odiug95]

I'm by no way European, I'm from South America. But I've travelled the world a tiny bit, and the place where I felt the biggest culture shock was the US. I thought having grown up with their T.V., movies, books, that it would feel like home, but what I found was this soulless gray place where I couldn't walk anywhere (and why would you travel somewhere when you can't even walk). Strangely, New York felt like the least crazy, most normal city of them all.

[@harrychown6854]

And that's why New York has the highest property prices in the US along with San Francisco. It's because in the centre of NYC, there is a resemblance of the walkable, community-spirited city. And it's in high demand in the US.

[@MickeyMouse-lm6zj]

it depends on where you are

[@MickeyMouse-lm6zj]

new yorks also extremely expensive and has a huge crime and immigration issue

[@sdrc92126]

Where'd you go? I heard a saying once that went something like Cities are made for people who pay for their entertainment; the country is for people who like to make their own entertainment.

[@DonGivani]

Same thoughts, these car centric cities are soulless. NY is different, very nice !!!!

[@madensmith7014]

Whoever that guy is, his plans are almost exactly what we have here in the Philippines. Malls are surrounded by apartment buildings, there's usually medical facilities inside like dentists and clinics, and there's even attached transport terminals for people who commute. There aren't much trains here but the very few have stations directly near malls. Being near schools is almost just a coincidence since planners don't really like the idea of young students loitering around after class, even if that's something that's already happening. It's no stretch that they're mini-cities in an already densely populated city. Imo, the secret to that is the air conditioning. When the climate is hot or raining, malls are really convenient to be in.

[@conradojavier7547]

You'd be lucky if your Home is near a Train Station.

[@faustinuskaryadi6610]

We also have Mall+Apartment complex in Jakarta, Indonesia. For example: Central Park Podomoro City on West Jakarta.

[@SharkFishSF]

Third world countries are more community living oriented except some car centric cities. Most metropolitan and sub metropolitan cities of India are planned as per people's convenience, not by car centric infrastructure.

[@phoenix5054]

The apartments came after the malls though, so does the terminals and the train stations. I presume Ayala and Sy (mall owners) lobbied the government to make sure that train stations ended on malls. And unlike in the US, malls are centric to urban rather than sub-urban culture.

[@penskepc2374]

Thats essentially what's replacing malls here. They're called "lifestyle centers" and actually have a lot of potential, but unfortunately modern urbanist are an incredibly whiney bunch with zero foresight that have found a reason to hate them too.

[@tombloom99]

I have argued for this sort of city for 50 years. It's just gotten worse ever year. I hope your work improves things.

[@MelGibsonFan]

None of this urbanist shit will change anything unfortunately. It falls into the same problems most of left KZbin has, it’s preaching to the already converted.

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

It doesn't work in a slightly better Brazil.

[@warw]

@@MelGibsonFan I can understand what you mean, but not just bikes definitely converted me and made me show up to city council meetings. Ive heard random normie people talk about how unwalkable our country is, all of this hype I think really can help people to at least discuss it. I'm hopeful, but not overly hopeful.

[@MelGibsonFan]

@@warw I remember orgs like Transportation Alternatives way back, before NJB became a thing and yeah it’s definitely become more mainstream so I think he’s just riding a kind of zeitgeist. I just find NJB’s content to be geared towards a certain kind of upwardly mobile ex suburban yuppie. Dude talks about “traveling the world” and then after having kids just up and moving to the NL. Like wtf bro most people don’t have it good enough to flee the rich suburbs of Canada for one of the wealthiest places on the planet lol. So his particular content lacks any kind of irl approach to urban policy and doesn’t take class based issues into account. Interacted with him a few times on Reddit and he’s got an insufferable God complex, so admittedly his personality is probably what predisposes me to hate his channel.

[@Libertyjack1]

@@MelGibsonFan It will need to come from a change in people's mentality, but this is hard when our cultural drivers are those who have a stake on keeping people segmented and divided on a bunch of sweet nothings.

[@p1mason]

I think there's two lessons to be learned from the shopping mall. The mid century rise of the suburbs was accompanied by a cultural shift where the idea of going outside without a car became an increasingly foreign concept. This shift required a reimagining of many traditionally pedestrian activities to allow people to undertake these activities from within a car. Restaurants gave way to drive in and then drive through establishments. High street movie palaces gave way to drive on theatres. Cities built parkways through and to their major parks to allow for "recreational driving", and so on. Shopping malls represent a similar attempt to vehicularise the traditionally pedestrian main street experience. What is so interesting is that shopping malls (compared to other attempts to vehicularise the main street) are mildly auto hostile. Whilst they are designed for people in cars to drive to, they then require you to walk. A lot. And yet, compared to strip malls, power centres and commercial stroads, shopping malls achieved arguably much higher levels of success.i think the lesson is that most people are much less sold on the car dependent lifestyle than is commonly supposed. Secondly, despite being mildly auto hostile, shopping malls didn't do anything to actually change people's lifestyle towards a more sustainable, pedestrian one. This is because shopping malls did nothing to actually challenge car dependancy in the suburbs and on the residential streets where people live. I think the lesson is that if you want to change people's lifestyle away from driving, you've got to start at home. Refitting residential suburbs to nudge people towards staying local, waking, or using sustainable transport is worth far more than even the greatest pedestrianised downtown.

[@joshuamckee7019]

I think it's going to go even further the other direction. Instead of drive in theaters people can can watch their movies at home. Instead of going to the store Amazon will deliver to your home. Heck many are now working from home. This will allow people to withdraw even more from cities.

[@robertodell9193]

@@joshuamckee7019 "This will allow people to withdraw even more from cities." This will people to withdraw even more from other people. ☹

[@dzonikg]

I am not from USA but i have solution ( cost money ) ,i would make parking lots over ground illegal ..so if you have shoping mall, parking should be under shoping mall (its like that in my country) ..and where there is allready huge parking lots in cities move them undergroung and on top build park or residential buildings

[@harrygoldun5779]

Think it has already arrived in the US, no one needs a car, mainly for the fact that most have withdrawn from the social aspect of life and prefer to sit at home in front of a screen, be it for entertainment, or for day to day activities. The art of humanity in the States is rapidly disappearing. So whatever Gruen envisaged wouldn't have worked. Strange then that the shopping mall, the suburban shopping strip and the use of a car or public transport is booming inplaces like Australia. Seems a different mindset exists were socialising and getting out to a location is just part of daily life, with the malls doing a roaring trade, just as they did back in the 70's, 80's and beyond. No matter what you analyse on this subject, the problem lies with the people themselves.

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

The reason for the rise of the suburbs is explained better by one paragraph from Robert Putnam than the hours of astroturfed urbanist channels.

[@YoungOne48]

2:35 Ironic considering that keeping all the apartments and everything probably would've generated more profit than just the mall.

[@thefirsttrillionaire2925]

The schools alone would’ve! Everyone would meet there after school! 🤦🏽‍♂️

[@davidhutchinson5233]

I'm so with you. I have moved to FL and am resisting buying a car. I cannot stand them. Another reason for the police to intervene in your life. The registrations, the licenses, the car payment, the insurance, the gas and on and on and on it goes. New to your channel....but I love it. Thank you.

[@TrinhNguyen-sh4fj]

Yes owning a car is so expensive now.

[@punchkicker3837]

You just proved to be the biggest idiot ever for moving to Florida. If you want to live without a car and live somewhere, then pick Boston, NYC, Philly, Chicago, or DC.

[@RestrictedHades]

why would you move to florida if you hate cars

[@punchkicker3837]

@@RestrictedHades That's what I asked that idiotic b-stard David.

[@Labyrinth6000]

Funniest thing I ever read! Why did you move to Florida if you don’t want a car??? That’s like moving to Alaska because you don’t like the cold! Man the DUMB decisions you anti-car people make! 🤣

[@iamfinky]

Sadly this can't happen in America, as the country runs on profit. People's quality of life doesn't generate a profit so this won't happen.

[@paulheydarian1281]

Are you by any chance related to my Marxist, Ex-Guru, aptly named... Normie FecalStain?

[@bchristian85]

The 2010s saw a lot of good things in terms of urban revival in cities a cross the country. Unfortunately, the pandemic has been a speed bump for it and the rise of WFH has brought into question whether or not it will continue, but at the end of the day it really comes down to culture and the fact American culture still treats the suburbs as the ideal. Culture could be turned against suburbs like it was turned against urbanism in the mid 20th century. I'd say we were well on our way, but there has been a backlash.

[@Ven100]

Loved the video. As someone who was born in England, grew up in the US during the 90s but still visiting Europe a lot, it's one of the reasons why I made the decision to move back permanently. I love these cities (like London) where you don't need a car and everything is within walking distance. Need groceries? Walk there. Sure, you can't buy/carry as much groceries as you would with a car, but the fact that it's so close - you don't need to. Infact, it being close lets you get freshier ingredients on the reg. That combined with great mass transit which lets you step onto a train in one city and off in another city center, it makes things like "Let's go to Amsterstam for the weekend" Or Paris. Or Barcelona.

[@bigrunts9768]

Americans would use trains if it was fast as driving on your own.

[@JohnDoe-xc5kn]

I am able to live car free in Seattle pretty well 90% of the time. But when people hear me say something like “it’s just a 15 minute walk” they look at me like I’m crazy. It’s like you actually live in a place where you have a choice and you still don’t appreciate it.

[@NFFFFFFFF]

@@bigrunts9768hat’s what they are suggesting.

[@Labyrinth6000]

Stay in Europe, We Americans Love our cars and all this video is is just more Anti-car propaganda. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP MY CAR FOR "THE ENVIORNMENT"!!!!!!!!!!

[@morelikegayattorney7099]

It's honestly so cool that Europeans can just hop on a train and be in another country. If the US and Canada were smart there would be several trains connecting to each other in the New York - Toronto - Montreal region, but alas

[@eryngo.urbanism]

Love seeing another Urbanist starting a brand new channel! Great editing, great research, great video. Can't wait to see more!

[@caixiuying8901]

insane that this channel has less than 2k followers, I thought this was a much bigger channel will sub

[@zerocool6452]

@@caixiuying8901 Same so I thought why not give him a sub ^^

[@DrJams]

and if he gets his way we'll all be living in tiny homes waiting for the bus being timetable dependant

[@zerocool6452]

@@DrJams You know you can still have big home if you want. And waiting on teh bus isn't even bad thing if they have buses going evry few minutes heck you don't even need to take public transport at all but we also don't need an infrastructure that revolves around cars.

[@Labyrinth6000]

@@DrJams Exactly, so sick of this anti-car propaganda that urbanites especially Europeans are bent on pushing on us Americans! I LOVE the suburbs as I like to be around people like me and the last thing I want is to be forced into tiny pods in the city that tell me I cant leave my place at any time I want!

[@jahanitahani]

For a first video, the quality is insane. This advocacy for better human oriented design is what the US needs. I love how well edited and put together this is. Sometimes it can be boring to just hear someone talk with stock footage. I really hope you can put out more incredible content!

[@Labyrinth6000]

You're not gonna force us to leave the suburbs and country and move into the crime ridden cities. Aint gonna happen clown, we arent Europe.

[@MickeyMouse-lm6zj]

not everyone wants to be in a city

[@barnacleboi2595]

I live in NYC and, even though there are a lot of things I hate about living here like the sky high rent, I still love the fact that you dont need a car if you live here. You can get anywhere within a 15 mile radius using public trans. On top of that, even if you dont want to use trains or buses, everything you need is also within walking distance. I still dont have my drivers license at 24 lol but im getting one soon.

[@Labyrinth6000]

You couldn’t pay me to live in a major city. High crime, expensive, and tiny apartments. I’m a big house guy.

[@harrychown6854]

Downtown NYC is an exception to the rule. It was developed before the motorcar. And there's a reason those rents are sky high. It's because the walkable, community-focussed neighbourhood is a highly liveable environment, which creates huge demand. Downtown San Francisco will be another example, but there's not many others. Can you imagine living somewhere like Fort Worth, or London Ontario? Their only options are to live in soulless, ugly and boring suburbs where there isn't a single facility within walking distance. They don't even usually have sidewalks. But even if they did, they wouldn't lead anywhere useful.

[@happyfunball3266]

@@harrychown6854 I live in San Francisco, and it's just as you say. A walkable, livable place like San Francisco is also highly desirable and therefore it's expensive. It's a place where people interact and regularly stop on the street and talk with each other, and where things are readily available with just a short walk. But since so many more people want to live in a place like this than there is available space, demand is high. You'd think that that demand would translate into more livable places, but instead we have the soulless, atomizing suburbs.

[@harrychown6854]

@@happyfunball3266 You are a lucky American. One of the few to live in such an environment!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

An example of GOOD mall design is Newport Centre mall, which is right in the middle of downtown Jersey City, NJ. The location is quite accessible thanks to dollar vans/shuttle buses (that go up to the GWB), the PATH (from Newport station; goes to Midtown and Lower Manhattan, and Newark), and the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (which serves most of Hudson County). The mall opened in the 80s, and the area around it flourished and became more urban because of it. Unlike other malls in the US, Newport is THRIVING The problem with its design? Even in an urban environment surrounded by transit, it STILL has a parking garage. Newport is the most popular stop on the HBLR, and the majority of Jersey City doesn't own a car. So having a big garage is pointless, and it's better to use the land to expand the mall's number of stores, or perhaps for housing as well (since there's booming demand for housing in Jersey City).

[@lukebradley7879]

It also helps being soo close to the biggest city in the United States literally across the River which makes all this 100% easier. Most other malls don’t have that advantage

[@mergat2970]

Why are you everywhere

[@Maxwellchaos7439]

Yes! I live in Jersey City, I love Newport and I think it'd be great if the parking was turned into more store space or living space. Whenever me and my family drive into the parking area, it's a desert because of how little people actually take their cars there. I know so many people who just walk to the mall. If I could Id stay at Newport for an entire day and never get bored and meet so many cool people. Newport's design should be everywhere

[@ardius9777]

They should convert those empty lots into flea markets or parks. It's what we do here in open air parking lots in Malaysia on certain days of the weeks, we have night markets in them.

[@XBKLYN]

In NJ I think the pandemic has accelerated the rebirth of small walkable towns. Many people no longer commute to NYC for work so there's been a bit of resurgence in coffee shops, restaurants and bike shops in the places I'm familiar with in the burbs. Now if only we could get some protected bike lanes to connect all these small towns 🤔

[@MelGibsonFan]

I got back in my bike for the first time in years when the pandemic hit. Cars were few and far between and it became much easier to cycle.

[@XBKLYN]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 you randomly picked this forum to whine about your own inadequacies?

[@MelGibsonFan]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 lol wtf are you even saying?

[@MelGibsonFan]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 So funny enough I actually am someone who left New York because of the cost of living. 40 years would take you back to the most violent year in NY’s history though so weirdly NYC has actually gotten better since then. Unfortunately if you’re the kind of deranged culture warrior that a lot of right wingers are and you believe in the “DeMoCrAt CoNtRoLlEd CiTiEs” narrative then I’m not sure anything I say will change your mind. NY has largely been in the leadership of Republican mayors, it’s core local political bodies are by and large subservient to the interest of big capital. Few things demonstrate this more than the decade long defunding of the MTA under Giuliani and Pataki. Housing costs are a big one too. Every effort to make housing more affordable has been beaten back by, you guessed it, republicans. Excessive broker fees capped? Republicans led the effort to reinstate them, affordable housing subsidized? Republicans fought that. Rent stabilization implemented? Republicans fought that… you get what I’m saying. Too many republicans don’t understand the nature of finance or it’s capture of the Democratic Party. You guys are hyper obsessed culture warriors and too insular to care what most functional democracies are actually like and just how extreme your party really is.

[@MelGibsonFan]

@@sparklesparklesparkle6318 I guess you would like to fix the economy by implementing policies explicitly rejected throughout almost every industrialized nation which has guaranteed it's citizenry a better quality of life through safer streets, healthier food, better and cheaper education, longer life expectancy etc...

[@RushWaggonerwindyshadow32]

This is a great video! Helped me formulate some ideas for my senior thesis on Victor Gruen next semester! Definitely see some awesome potential for your channel and wanted to say I was here from the very very beginning! Just subbed!

[@willbarkerprod]

Thank you!! Glad it helped you with your thesis that's so cool! Best of luck

[@Labyrinth6000]

@obimk1104 Because I LOVE my car, I dont mind driving the distance.

[@DrJams]

@obimk1 People don't want to live by factories so that's why we have zones. Stop watching other channels that want you to live in tiny expensive apartment blocks waiting around for the bus messing around with timetables

[@Labyrinth6000]

@obimk1104 I dont even want to travel on buses or trains. Filled with smelly strangers who might rob and beat me up because I bought valuables. We are NOT EUROPE, we are a massive country where people live in spread out areas unless you live in the northeast and California. At least we have freedom of speech and most of all ability to own firearms. Stay on your side of the pond!

[@NankitaBR]

Here in Brazil shopping malls are usually in very dense city centers, in places that are easily accessible by public transportation and walking. So for us shopping centers are very useful because they are basically a commercial street but in a single place and without noncommercial buildings in between like in the street, so they are still very much in use and not decaying here because they are useful. Usually their parking lots are mostly either underneath or above the mall itself, so it has parking spaces for those that want to drive but they are still very accessible by people walking that don't want to cross huge parking lots to get inside. Shopping malls are not the problem itself, the way they are built amd though about in the US is.

[@richardscathouse]

In most US cities you need a degree in navigation to figure out a public transportation system.

[@Zyo117]

The editing is definitely top notch. It's covering a lot of topics and summarising what other channels have posted in individual videos per topic, but that's not a bad thing.

[@mitjed]

Its like a television documentary level.

[@princessmarlena1359]

Some malls are being converted to apartments. I myself squatted in one of the deserted stores (Gilly Hicks) of a dying mall, along with a few other people who found other empty stores to occupy. I was able to pick the locks, get inside, change the locks, and move in. I’d use the bathrooms, and shower/bathe in the fountain nearby my spot (I’d wear a cheap one piece swimsuit while bathing). I had a mini freezer and mini fridge, microwave, and hot plate for my meals, and a folding cot. Unfortunately the local sheriff’s department forced us out. Later, the junkies, gangs, and drug dealers moved in and turned the mall into a war zone. It got to the point where the SWAT team had to sweep it in a raid, and eventually the building was demolished, the land fenced off. It still sits as a vacant, weed choked fenced lot today. TL/DR Some malls are being made into apartments. I myself along with a few others squatted in the stores of a dying mall, we made our own methods to inhabit them. Police kicked us out, we got replaced by addicts and gangs, police forced THEM out, mall building demolished and is still an empty lot.

[@skylu-original]

Why there wasnt any legal inhabitants? Crazy prices or what was the reason?

[@princessmarlena1359]

@@skylu-original there were legal tenants at first, but the mall owner(s) were pretty much absentee landlords. They cut back on maintenance, security, and the tenants just either moved or shut down their shops completely. Especially since people stopped coming to that particular mall. It’s really hard for a shopping mall or brick and mortar stores in general to compete against the convenience of the internet, but if a mall venue is really nice such as The Grove in West L.A. or The Americana of Glendale, CA. people would still be willing to visit it.

[@Lildizzle420]

places like Phoenix metro center are starting to create full mixed developments with housing and an elevated light rail station, so it's good to know the guys dream is finally coming true. the good thing about Phoenix is that it's possible to reduce car lanes.

[@Xenomorph-hb4zf]

walking outside in phoenix without an AC? 40c weather lmao

[@aqua2poweros699]

In Nyc the MTA and DOT are adding bike and bus lanes to their existing roads for existing bus lines and popular biking areas. Many nyc subway stations in the outer bouroughs are close to residential areas allowing commuters to just use the train or bus to get where they need to go.

[@jeanmarcleplattenier2762]

What? I live here. This city is a car town. Public transportation is inconvenient and cumbersome.

[@danakraemer8512]

When I was a kid, living In suburbia, Anaheim, CA., I’d get on my bike and go see my friends. I didn’t ask mom to drive me. Cold day, wear a jacket, hot, wear shorts. Sunscreen - you have got to be kidding. I was slow at the end of the day for all the vitamin D my body made. Rarely sick as a kid.

[@BerryMitchels]

As a European swiss who moved to Ohio, I couldn't agree more with the points you made in this video. We desperately need to find a way to end or at least lessen car dependency in the usa.

[@Kai...999]

One thing the hood has over the suburbs is the sense of community I guess. Ignoring the murder and gang beefs, there's always people outside doing stuff 😶

[@richardscathouse]

The solution is spay nutur programs for single parents

[@shauncameron8390]

ROFL.

[@perryborn2777]

Living in a city the past three years has really made me hate the way we design them in the US. When I lived in an apartment just down the road from the school I was attending, it wasn't so bad, cause I had sidewalks, a convenience store, food at the University and a couple restaraunts around, and a mall about a mile away all connected by sidewalks, but once I moved further out into the suburbs, I started to notice the problems. I like having the option to drive, but it sure would be nice if I had the option to walk, bike, or ride a train/bus to get to my destination as well. But I don't. If I want to go somewhere, I've gotta drive. I really hate how hard it is to convice people that cars and walkable areas can coexist, cause the answers have already existed for decades, we just ignore them. I'm glad to be moving back out to the country soon. At least then it'll make sense when it takes me 30 minutes to get to the grocery store, as it's in another town 30 miles away instead of 2 miles as the crow flies and thirth minutes of traffic

[@richardscathouse]

Exactly

[@adamhall8963]

The production value on this video is top tier, can''t wait for more!

[@birchtree5884]

This channel comes swinging out of the gate with this banger. Looking forward to the future!

[@andrew2137]

Lived in Europe for a few years, having lived in Atlanta all my life. I love my country but fuck me I miss trains. I miss just not having a car and still being able to travel basically anywhere on foot no problem. My parents live 3 hours away and I'd love to just be able to hop on a train and go visit. I remember I came back to the US and saw that I-75 had this elevated structure being built alongside it on the Northside, I remember thinking "Shit, are they finally building a rail system?" but no it's a god damn toll road...

[@Mrs._Ukraine]

If the USA would want to be a car free pedestrian friendly society, it would probably take atleast 1 and 1 quarter century considering how much larger the US is than the Netherlands, and how much more people they have.

[@Tom-xy9gb]

probably. Only thing protecting the car culture is big government. We have to push them back to let the market decide what they want in their neighborhoods.

[@alfredsaalo1441]

It is ironic how "the land of the free" is the opposite of free in some aspects

[@wa-bu3ke]

Always was

[@harrychown6854]

It's also ironic how "the land of the free" is quite literally not the "land of the free". There is an index of freedom created by some boffins and scientists, and the US routinely comes out at around the 25th "most free" country in the world. Meaning there are 24 countries considered "more free". The US was also recently assessed by the economist as being a "flawed democracy" (one step below the best category of a "full democracy"). It makes me cringe when Americans talk about their land being the land of the free, when it literally isn't. It would be more accurate to call it the "land of the free-ish". Because that's what it is. It's kind of free. It was indeed the first country to fully embrace democracy etc (albeit France might have something to say about that). But it certainly isn't leading the pack today.

[@catalyst_yt1472]

Good video man keep up the good work!

[@mrdaym]

It's impossible for you to not have heard of NotJustBikes.

[@highway2heaven91]

He’s definitely Urbanism YT Central (along with Strong Towns).

[@GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

You go to shopping malls today, and there's almost nothing but tech stores selling cell phones and cell phone cases. Hardly and variety, and if you're looking for something specific, it's either out of stock, out of date, or sold online only. Remember when stores were packed with merchandise? Now it's like they only have the bare minimum.

[@Lezzylree]

This might be the best introductory video on this topic for its length that I have seen. incredible job!

[@Varg390]

Imagine needing a car to go to the supermarket and not walking for less than 5 minutes to buy a plunger... I imagine it :(

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

I personally LOVE being kept physically far apart from others. Not everyone wants to be crammed together. But I totally agree: people should have the choice.

[@royalsd]

Yea, though a small portion of people are like you. Humans are meant to be social and in a group as it’s how we r evolved. People are becoming more introverted because of isolation because of the internet and cars. I don’t like to say this but I bet that in most cases this was also the cause to your love of being away from people.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Well the suburban areas are the worst of all possible worlds. People are spread too far apart to conveniently come together if they want to, yet crammed in too close together to be physically far apart. And worse, EVERYTHING dumps onto these very heavily travelled 4, 6, and 8 lane arterial roads and THEY dump onto extremrly busy or downright jammed freeways and tollways that are 6, 8, or 10 lanes wide or even wider!

[@lunayen]

If you have a job, then you can never be too far away from people. And you can build a walkable city with public transit where people aren't crammed together, but they aren't wasting land for one large house.

[@khianakalypso4743]

Even though I have social anxiety, I generally like being in public. I don't want to be surrounded or right up against people, but I am not the type who likes to feel completely alone. Living in an apartment though.. most miserable thing ever, I swear. Sharing walls and dealing with your neighbors issues is not fun. Only downside to the world of less vehicles, but otherwise i'd like it!

[@eazydee5757]

@@khianakalypso4743You’re kind of like me, except I wouldn’t mind living in an apartment at all.

[@DieSuidAfrikanTikkoppe]

I can’t believe this is your first/only video it’s so good and I can’t wait to see more ❤

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

With the rise of online shopping, malls have struggled and shuttered. Now they're reinventing themselves to be more appealing to everyone, whether it be to include indoor water parks and theme parks like the American Dream Meadowlands or a housing development. But Cheesecake Factory is the peak of American malls. Its decor screams "Let's further treat ourselves and eat here before shopping some more". Sure they're weird with their dictionary-sized menus, but that's what makes them stand out. The first restaurant opened in 1978 in Beverly Hills, and the rest is history. I hope to open just a street of Cheesecake Factories but they're all different designs with statues of me.

[@giantmanice]

I did not check the username fast enough 😂

[@richardscathouse]

You forgot Convid

[@Misaka-gt5yj]

You can't really stop the car unions from lobbying tho

[@user-qm4mb7ct3d]

Only mass protests can stop them

[@IHateStroads]

Editing on par with channels with 5M+ subscribers. Great production.

[@BPEKSupraInteractive]

Profits over people... Always the trend in America

[@wturner777]

And unfortunately that includes infrastructure.

[@createLazyWorkerJack]

In Hong Kong, we have apartments on top of the mall and sometimes a public transport station under it. This design is common here due to the lack of land but it solves the problem in this video.

[@panda7915]

I can imagine living there x) it's funny

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

Problem is I don't think modern walkable centers would be any better. One thing you are forgetting is that the walkable areas have old buildings that were actually constructed with love and care unlike todays buildings that are just built to be the cheapest thing possible to meet all the government regulations. Would a walkable town with a bunch of crappy 5 over 1s be any better than a mall? I don't think so and the reason I don't think so is because I have been to many of these crappy new trendy places in many cities. The absolute worst was Charlotte NC, that city is is just completely souless and is filled with modern apartment blocks and 5 over 1s with crappy chain stores

[@Kuzyapso]

It doesn't matter. This is just another youtuber who wishes America was Europe

[@austinreed7343]

While yeah it wouldn't be as nice as a bunch of old buildings, it would at least be safer than a mall. I'd consider that to be boring, but practical, because despite the comparative lack of charm and character (even tacky 90s-style buildings like Rainforest Cafe would be cool to have), it's still not as prone to traffic problems like noise pollution and car wrecks, and also still better for the environment. That's what's really important; the charm and uniqueness can build up over time.

[@mufgada]

I really like this video. Vienna's Mariahilferstraße, Austria's busiest shopping street, is a good example of how transitioning from cars to humans is both possible and profitable. Including Vienna at the beginning and end of the video would also help to tie the video together.

[@zacharyjones6729]

i love finding a new good urban planning channel

[@NDUWUISI]

Great video! Please make more urban planning videos Also as someone who spent his honeymoon in Amsterdam earlier this year, that place is magical! 👌🏾

[@swunt10]

You don't even need a big urban city. Small towns with a main street and a market square can be very rural but still urban enough to be car free. The diameter of a small town should not exceed 1 Mile. That way even if you live on the outskirts in some single family home it would still be less than half a Mile (5-10 Minutes walk) to get to the more urban center with shops and apartment buildings. Add to that a train station to connect to other small towns in the region going all the way to the next big city and you have the perfect alternative to suburbia. One big urban city with no sprawl and in the surrounding countryside you have small towns, farming villages, farmland and forests. That is sustainable in every sense of the word. It's good for the environment, it's good for peoples mental health, it's sustainable financially and economically as well.

[@Roobar_Plays]

As a European, I can tell you that such dense building is not ideal either. There's simply not enough air to breathe. There's concrete and brick everywhere you look. In contrast, you may have green lawns, but in my view, at least it's something more green to look at and you have more air and sun. Not to mention that I love the idea living away from my noisy neighbors. Living surrounded by cement is not making me any more social. I just want to go more often outside of my city and breathe a fresh air, connect with the nature. We also have malls, but our cities are so old that they don't allow for much infrastructure changes for a greener life and pedestrian only streets. What may look good on paper and pictures, these pedestrian only streets are a nightmare for the living people there because of the loud music from bars, shops etc. And people in most European cities still use their cars to go to their malls despite the dense building.

[@onetrealchamp]

Great video dude! look forward to what else you make!

[@davca368]

Great video, can't wait to see more!

[@krone5]

The mall concept is based upon real city streets, the problem is when the the mall is not connected with its community, for example in my area, many malls are near a cemetery, and not near actual housing.

[@Zero8880]

The golden age of malls was the 80s/90s. Most malls had a store that catered to everyone in the family. Whether it be clothing and jewelry stores for mom and teenagers, electronics stores and Sears for dad, or KB toys and arcades for the kids, or the food courts and movie theaters for the whole family. Nowadays, it seems like there are more dead malls than thriving ones. Sadly, most of the thriving malls where I live only cater to women these days. The only thing they have for me are leather massage chairs so I can wait for my wife to finish shopping. It's sad, bc in the 90s, I considered myself a mallrat.

[@nolesy34]

They need a massage chair and waiter to bring beer, then ALL MEN would come

[@richardscathouse]

Didn't know; I was too poor to play.

[@nolesy34]

@@richardscathouse you could play monopoly and WIN the mall

[@htraygo]

Literally your first video and I loved it. Great production value.

[@spongebobsunglasses8643]

Incredible quality for your first video!! Wow!!

[@ToontownAndCpenguin]

I grew up near Portland Oregon & my childhood home was about a 20 minute walk to the nearest bust stop that required going over a big hill. In my early 20's, I'd start taking the bus to get around, even though the walk was such a hassle & when I moved out, I chose an apartment off of the MAX line, sadly having to go for an affordable one meant that there wasn't much else within a close walking distance, even walking to the nearby Subway restaurant took like 15 minutes. There was a Fred Meyer close to the apartment complex but it was about a half hour walk through neighborhoods & another apartment complex to get there. It's such a pain, even somewhere with decent public transportation takes a while to get from place to place without a car. Part of it is waiting at crosswalks & being mindful of the roads. I never learned how to drive & I'm in my early 30's now, when I was a teenager, other than being in a car accident that caused me to be unable to look at the car in front of me for years, I just flat out didn't want to learn how to drive because I was trying to figure out how I can do better for the environment, I looked into efficient cars but they were too expensive & whatnot so I decided since we have trimet, I'd just use that. Well, Portland got too dangerous to be around, my extended family are in their 70's, & I couldn't afford rent. My parents decided to move closer to family to spend time with them while they're still around & I needed somewhere more affordable to live so I followed. Sadly, their public transportation system is well, it's not Portland lol. I'm locked at home almost all the time, I can walk to some nearby restaurants & a little farther away is a Walmart, theater, GameStop, & more restaurants so I have places to walk to but it takes a while to get there. I wish things were more walking friendly. I'm considering spending this summer learning how to drive because I'm sick of being stuck at home. I'd rather be in a community where you don't need cars but that just doesn't exist where I live & I'm sort of tied to here until my extended family are gone because I grew up away from them, I want to spend time with them before they're gone.

[@colakoi1605]

Great video! Can't wait to see more videos you'll make in the future

[@Calvin-lu7td]

Great video man hope to see more from you!

[@Trupen]

Great video, you definitely had experience with it before :)

[@HolloVVpoint]

Basically every town, city high street center in the UK and Europe. It’s not a new idea as such because that’s how our towns and cities have always been, I’m guessing Gruen was homesick and wanted to bring a bit of his old home to his new home.

[@BigCompanyYT]

This channel is going places that’s for sure! :) Subscribed

[@JohnRollercoasterJr]

Love your sound design. Super satisfying when an element pops on screen and it’s not just a whoosh effect

[@micha0585]

Great video. I was surprised to see that your account has only 54 subscribers, I think you deserve many more. However, the topic is very depressing.

[@freeinghumanitynow]

This is interesting. If I recall correctly, Walt Disney wanted something similar in his parks and was planning it when he died. Legend has it that after his death the planned community was scrapped.

[@nopedynopenope107]

was surprised when i found out this was the first and only video on your channel so far, pretty good shit

[@MathieuTechMoto]

This channel needs more subscribers !

[@kb_100]

NIMBYs hate this video

[@Nosgoroth]

One single video? Only a hundred subscribers? What the heck, watching the video I didn't expect that at all, it's so well done. Subscribed.

[@floraalgera]

love this video!! already subbed to this channel, can't wait to see what else you might make!

[@zachrussell7851]

Brooo i need more videos, this shit was soooo good!

[@AlbertoLopez-mn8ms]

Great video. I don't live in the US but I can empathize with it a bit. I live in the second largest city in Mexico. The city was never planned for the growth experienced in the last 25 years and now chaos reigns in the streets. A battle of the car centric make wider roads where possible vs add bike lanes is non stop all over town. Bikes are good but not if you have to go 10km to go to work every day...

[@TheHy6xD]

You said he included housing and other necessities to his project, but they didn't build it. It's not his fault they didn't implement it.

[@2_ratsplz]

Great vid man, hope to see more

[@seanalvarez1723]

this was really well put together, keep this content up dude

[@snabbisnabb595]

I have probably been looking at the Not Just Bikes channel too much to recognise the shots you integrated.

[@gecko4878]

I hate cars with all my heart

[@janbuyukcelen3778]

beautiful video, hope your channel explodes in popularity

[@benintegral6121]

for your first video this is incredible, i can't wait to see more

[@zk0rned]

Only problem with your theory here is that Tokyo has exactly what you specified, and it doesn't seem like it's that much helpful than the alternative

[@MuffHam]

I would day Toyoko is a good example for what a city should look like. Meteo Toyoko has several sub cities within it. These sub cities have there own identity and layout. But are all connected via the best plubic transit system in the world. You can get almost anywhere in Japan via train.

[@caseyadams1861]

Japan is about the same land size as California, but with over three times as many people. Expecting the US to be like Japan is just unrealistic. Both countries have vastly different cultural/societal norms and geographies. Just because it works there doesn't mean it will work everywhere--or anywhere--else.

[@wa-bu3ke]

@@caseyadams1861 it would work dumbass And he said a city not the whole country

[@caseyadams1861]

@@wa-bu3ke, oh, I'm sure it will work out just perfectly. And, all of its inhabitants will be as friendly and nice as yourself.

[@shin-ishikiri-no]

@@caseyadams1861 Barbarians love their barbarian lifestyle. Not surprising.

[@elevadon]

Always fun to see footage of my city in these kinds of videos

[@SoSS_Operator]

I hope your channel blows up man, this was a great video! Keep up the quality content

[@eurosonly]

You know you've got a poor design and a problem when the parking lot is 3 times as big as the damn destination it engulfs. What a waste of land space. Build up not around.

[@user-qm4mb7ct3d]

Poor design is only the 'Murican one

[@mygetawayart]

certain american towns brag about having the one walkable road with a few shops, greenery and a fountain to the point that it becomes one of the main attractions and i find that so cute and depressing at the same time. They'll even go so far as call it "the cultural district" or smth like that...

[@opheliasrue]

I live in a place like that, it is genuinely the only truly cute place in town but it gets no support because there’s so little access to it. It naturally just becomes that one place in town that everyone avoids because of the car traffic and becomes worse in quality

[@reneesimpson7094]

You did a good job. I like it. Make more!

[@antoinetremblay4449]

Talk about a stellar first video, way to go! Subscribed!

[@michaelraith9481]

So 'Mericans butchered a good and sensible idea. Ok.

[@gonefishing11]

Great video. How about, making one on the drive-in theaters? Why doesn't the large state of Texas, with all it's wide-open flat lands, build a high-speed train linking all it's large cities? 🤔

[@richardscathouse]

Because our politicians are all owned by corporations that make more profit when you stay in one place.

[@user-qm4mb7ct3d]

It's only due to f××ked up American car-based mentality, nothing more

[@rogermichaelwillis6425]

I hope to never own a car again. It's one reason I moved away from the US. For now, I live in Istanbul, Turkey. There must be a dozen bakeries within a two minute's walk from my apartment. Cafés and markets are everywhere. Plus, the transit system is excellent. Owning a car here would be a hindrance.

[@DenshaOtoko2]

Good thing there are walkable cities where I live.

[@userofthetube2701]

It's nice to admire Amsterdam. But do keep in mind that most of the cityscape shown in this video is at least one hundred years old. More recent neighborhoods are far less walkable and more car centric than the older ones. So even though the sprawl in Amsterdam may be less extreme than in the US, building walkable and attractive urban environments in a world where cars exist has proven to be difficult.

[@Mendrawza24]

This is the problem I see with channels like this one. They see a snapshot on a postcard and think that life is that way, not realizing that for any of it to be practical, the cars and highways they hate so much are still necessary.

[@userofthetube2701]

@LeonFuego This wasn't quite the point I was trying to make. Cars and highways are obviously necessary to some degree. But I do believe it's still possible to build neighborhoods that are much like those shown in this video. It's just that at some point urban planners decided that they would not do so anymore because the car was seen as the future. However, it's all about balance which for the moment still tends to be very car centric. My hope is that one day new neighborhoods will be designed in such a way that car travel is made largely unnecessary, while still providing access in cases where the car is the only option. And for that studying why these older neighborhoods are so attractive could be very useful.

[@punchkicker3837]

@@Mendrawza24 Cars and highways are necessary in rural areas like farms, NOT in big cities that have metro or commuter rail systems you son of a wh-re.

[@NAUM1]

Part of it also is they chose to follow a little bit of what had been before after the destruction of World War 2. And what was before was a lot of unplanned communities. So maybe take the planning out of it and let individuals decide on their own.

[@azhariarif]

this is actually a good point. Planned cities are almost always, devoid of people.

[@Skyefaux]

Yusssss another urban planning channel. Subscribed 💕

[@simonArmenia1]

Exellent vid, lokking forward to more on this channel

[@bc5441]

It is good that you point out the necessity of the car in Gruen’s original vision of the shopping mall. Also, when comparing the climates of Vienna, the Netherlands and Minneapolis (in whose suburbs Southdale was built), you see a much less hospitable cold-weather climate. People there drive to where they want to go rather than walk in part because it’s brutally cold. It’s interesting to see some of the uses of repurposed shopping malls: schools, museums, medical centers, offices, gyms, apartments. Everything that was excluded from the start. If everything had been put together to start, who knows what might have happened.

[@SeaBassTian]

I think I have a better understanding of why I was so excited to go the Mall as a teen, I don't think it was the I was gung ho on materialism, I think it was I was excited to have random encounters & people watch. Great video! Bonus points for including 2 shots of the mixed use development we have in RVA!

[@cometpepsi]

Insane first video, the quality of editing and the script is something I hope to one day match

[@mikemeal]

Great video. Looking forward to future content.

[@heroprotagonist24]

Once you move out of the US to another country you realize how every aspect of life in the the US is based around consumerism and materialism

[@dizzy5303]

Excellent work. More and more people are starting to see how bleak and ugly auto-centric design is. I think the solution could be found by simply reversing the government policies that caused it. Maybe the present urban environment could be salvaged if people had the freedom to be creative with land use. I notice that capitalism is often blamed for the hellscape we live in, but keep in mind, the "capitalists" who built all this sprawl, in almost every case, received public funds (development grants) to do it. This actually impeded capitalism by giving an unfair advantage to the big-box retailers, housing developers, chain restaurants, automakers and others who hugely benefit from this style of urban design without having to front the costs themselves. That's why small businesses are dying - they can't compete in this environment, and that's by design. That's also why everything looks the same wherever you go. To think, the taxpayer was looted for this. That's not capitalism, if we understand capitalism as a system of competition under a fair set of rules, where only the market (individuals making daily choices!) decides success or failure. In fact the government has been picking winners and losers for decades, allowing special interests to not only bend or ignore the law to hurt their competition, but even to write it themselves. I call that simply a racket.

[@user-qm4mb7ct3d]

So to change the politics you need to switch to communism?

[@cartermoberg3092]

Amazing quality video mate!

[@jasonmanyeeto314]

Great video! I’m excited to be here for the beginning- before your channel blows up. :)

[@legerlog5566]

I love your content already. Its so informative yet blatantly too the point, no reduced language, nothing held back, and I'm with you all the way. Keep up the good content and can't wait to watch more videos from you :)