It’d need some reworking, but malls could make excellent community squares as they are today, espcially in places with lots of inclement weather. Retail for co-op based crafts people, add community services, and keep/redevelop the food court and you gotta stew going. Maybe make everything a little more cozy inside as well, to whatever extent possible.
The major changes need to come on the outside. Make large tree/shade covered outdoor plazas near the entrances, and build medium density housing on top of the parking lots out front (what’s that, like 10,000 people or so?). Make sure there is plenty of public transit access in one corner of the development so that residents can get to/from other parts of the city and call it a day.
this is basically what shopping malls are like outside of the US in any semi developed lib state like Germany. the mall is a human concept dating back millennia to the bazaars of the middle east BCE. amazing how far we missed the mark by putting them in the middle of fucking nowhere surrounded by acres of hot disgusting asphalt that will make you heatstroke on your way to the entrance on a crowded day
