The official representative of mall management has appeared out of nowhere. She is dressed in a crisp uniform; her security pass flaps from a lanyard around her neck as she strides purposefully towards us.
In her left hand is a large walkie-talkie. She looks like she is about to hit someone. Unlike other mall-goers, she will not be influenced by midnight sales or flashy marketing, nor is she suffering urban dementia. There will be no impulse purchases on her way over to me and the small group of students who are discussing the finer points of mall architecture and how it is designed to create a landscape of consumer fantasy. I lower my eyes from her looming gaze and continue talking with my students.
PEDESTRIANS FIRST
The mall is an invention that completely backfired on its
