"What America's shopping mall decline means for social space" -- Vox, 2018, 5:06 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oooVC3zfDc8

A good discussion on the erosion of public space connected to the closings of the iconic American mall. Also known as social space and third-places, these invaluable public areas are essentially characterized as being free from the force to spend money. They are basically accessible, safe areas where you can meet others without having to buy anything. 

From the video's description: Our lives are lived in 1 of 3 places, the home, the workplace and the “third place,” which is anywhere outside of those two. Toward the end of the 20th century, the regional shopping mall had become that third place, the hang-out spot in suburban America. This was largely by design — an immigrant architect created the first mall in the vision that it would be a community gathering place. The plan didn’t work out as he intended. While malls did take off, they more often than not couldn’t quite catch on as ideal “third places.” But with an estimated 25% of shopping malls expected to close in the next five years, there’s an opportunity to re-examine where Americans spend their time and what could be the next iteration of the third place.