ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of global lockdowns and social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the viability of contemporary ‘brick-and-mortar’ retail shopping centres is in question. Already impacted by the rise of online shopping, the pandemic has further changed how consumers shop – and if the physical in-person shopping experience is to survive and thrive, retailers must deliver a unique and superior consumer shopping experience. This chapter focuses on how we might design shopping centres to be remarkable – by thinking, intentionally, about how they might be sites of health, sustainability, and play. We discuss several sustainable models of shopping centre design, including the world's first ever second-hand shopping centre – ReTuna in Sweden – where everything is recycled, re-used, or sustainably produced, and Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia, named the world's most sustainable shopping centre. This chapter also envisions shopping centres as salutogenic by offering mall-walking and other exercise options, as well as places of play for all ages. Recognising the importance of these spaces, shopping centres can be transformed from bland and unremarkable ‘big boxes’ to important mixed-use third places for community connection that nudge health, sustainability and play through their thoughtful design.
