Originally Posted by From Philly

Let us take a look at the "shopping at the mall" experience, as we know it today. Malls came about initially in the suburban areas, when the automobile became more affordable, basically in the 50's and people started to move to the suburbs in great numbers. The malls afforded them the opportunity to have the same quality of shopping they were used to when the moved from Philly. The main and means of getting to the mall was the automobile. Sure there are now buses and trains that allow people to go the Suburban Malls, but how many people really do? When one considers what is involved in shopping by public transportation and especially the limited amount available, plus the lugging of purchases home, it seems to me that taking public transportation, isn't that attractive to most people.