1. More Like Downtown Than Downtown Itself The Evolution of the shopping mall from Suburban Square to King of Prussia

2. More Automobiles Starting with the Ford Motor Company, cars become more affordable. The development of shopping malls is intrinsically linked to the increase in cars.

3. Urban Flight Increasing notion of the city as a congested and unsafe place to live. Wealthy people flee to the periphery creating new suburbs.

4. Serving the Suburbs

5. Suburban Square Created in the 1920’s by the Suburban Company of Pennsylvania. One of the first true outdoor shopping malls. Aimed towards creating a “select trading area”. Still retained many of the characteristics of a city center.

6. Suburban Square Location Sandwiched between two Suburban arteries and bisected by the railroad

7. Birth of the Modern Mall In 1956 Victor Gruen opened revolutionary new Southdale Shopping Center. Host of reasons why this enclosed mall was a good idea  Easy to heat  Cheap to build  Lots of parking  Retain People  Easy Security “More like downtown than downtown itself”

8. Highways During Eisenhower’s presidency he notices allied troops fighting in WWII move around Germany much faster because of the Autobahn. Building highway network becomes a national priority. Interstates link America in a completely new way and allow for a completely different traveling experience.

9. The Isolated King Mega-malls are developed along highways, accessible only by car and with limitless parking.

10. Traditional Mall Layout Generally malls are formed by two competing anchor stores supporting a host of smaller specialty stores

11. King Size Parts of kop expand this basic pattern to an even more gigantic scale

12. A Reversal of Importance? With malls on a scale like that of kop it becomes the mall that defines the suburb, as opposed to being built to serve its needs.