Hear, hear! Malls are a brokenness that isn't really fixable. Public spaces in the US are broken in general.

Strangely, one of the best analyses of this phenomenon came from an article written for Armenians moving to America, and it's here.

Also, if this interests you, I strongly suggest https://www.strongtowns.org/, which writes about American public spaces and civic planning in general. It's a brilliant site, if only for the concept of a "stroad".

Thanks for writing!