BEYOND CONSUMPTION: RETHINKING THE MALL TYPOLOGY

“It is in public spaces that city life takes place. They are what make cities come alive.”-Jan Gehl, Cities for People. This dissertation research investigates the decline and obsolescence of shopping malls in India, examining how these once-thriving symbols of consumerism have transformed into urban voids within rapidly evolving cities. The research explores the adaptive reuse of dead malls as civic and community-oriented public spaces that restore memory, meaning, and shared urban life.