So many formative moments in my life happened in my local mall. I live in the exurbs of NYC and the mall was the only sensible, safe meeting place for my friends and I. Notably, it was a place where we could hang out without parents around.

It’s hard to defend the existence of malls. I think they’re a symptom of larger problems concerning community design. I also think that they encourage excessive commercialism. Still, none of that changes what the mall means to me.