No New Enclosed Malls?

This interesting (though quite brief) article just popped into my Inbox. What makes it interesting is the statement that only three new enclosed malls have been built since 2005 and--even more interesting--not a single new enclosed mall is currently on the drawing board in the U.S.

That's quite astounding when you think about how much enclosed shopping malls have affected our culture in the last 50 or so years.

Of course, this is not to say that developers are forgoing malls as a whole. In fact, the latest fad in this area is the open-air mall (think EastChase or the High Point Town Center--a town center curiously absent human residents or civic functions--in Prattville).

Quite likely, this trendy fad will pass along just like the parachute pants that enclosed malls once sold.