The Mall Equation

Economic function is accepted as a significant issue in architectural discourse, but the economic potential of spatial configuration is often not adequately explored in real estate decision making. The objective of this book is to understand the economic rationale of spatial configuration, and this is attempted through the tenanting decision making in shopping malls. A shopping mall is an agglomeration of different stores managed as a single property, and can be conceptualized as a miniature urban setting. In shopping malls, profit maximization is normally the objective of the developer as well as of the individual tenant stores and this is achieved through tenanting decision making. In practice, tenanting decision making is mostly prescriptive, case specific and often taken on a rule of thumb basis. The tenanting decisions (location and area allocation of stores) are essentially spatial but have economic implications. This book attempts to bridge the gap between retail management practices and architectural design.

The book will be of interest to urban planners, commercial real estate developers, retail consultants and mall management professionals. Architecture and planning students, especially at postgraduate or doctoral levels, and academics researching retail development, urban economics, or optimization in the built environment will find this to be a useful reference tool.