Mission
The charitable mission of The Association for Mall Preservation (AMP) is to combat urban blight, reduce environmental waste, and foster community equity by advocating for and transforming underutilized or dead commercial retail properties into sustainable, community-first spaces.Through innovative adaptive reuse, local advocacy, and interdisciplinary student collaboration, AMP utilizes urban planning and community leadership to reimagine empty mega-structures as hubs for affordable housing, local commerce, public recreation, and civic infrastructure.
Goals for Community Impact:
Addressing Urban Blight: Revitalizing decaying mega-structures restores neighborhood pride, reduces property devaluation, and improves local public safety.Expanding Civic Resources: Converting dead retail space combats shortages in community infrastructure by creating affordable housing units, accessible healthcare clinics, childcare facilities, and other public resources.Empowering the Next Generation: Providing students with hands-on, real-world portfolio experience ensures entering professionals are deeply trained in sustainable development and civic-minded urban planning.
Proposed Activities:
Allowing chapters to be founded at universities and high schools nationwide. This will build a community for those interested in urban planning and mall history.The chapters will host school-wide events where architecture, engineering, and business interests blend to create adaptive reuse blueprints for local dead malls.Producing comprehensive structural and economic reports to present to city councils and developers, proving how specific empty malls can be converted into community assets.Organizing short-term community events(such as weekend pop-up markets, community gardens, or local art galleries) in underutilized mall spaces or parking lots to demonstrate active reuse.Hosting public workshops and panel discussions to educate community members and local policymakers on the benefits of zoning reform, smart growth, and historic preservation.Partnering with local economic development agencies to align student design concepts with municipal housing, recreation, and green infrastructure goals.
