Well, hear me out: imagine a concept where you would be able to reach a shop or a store not just by parking your car right in front in the car parking lot or the parking garage of the store, but by parking your car a bit off, and then walking to the store.

Now imagine that because of that, you would have sort of a pedestrian area in front of the store. Like, instead of hundreds of cars, there would be a walkable area! And all of this would be outdoors, so there would also be some nice plants and flowers. Maybe even outdoor seating. Benches. That kind of stuff.

Now imagine if that wasn't just one store, but several. Like, you would literally be able to walk from one store to the next, all without having to use your car! No getting into the car, yelling at obnoxious people wheeling shopping carts in front of you, navigating several stop signs, crossing a six lane connector, waiting at multiple intersections and a dozen traffic lights just to get to the next store!!

And now imagine that in this place, the entire outside area would look nice: not just a walkable area and nice plants in front of the store, but a pleasant pedestrian area connecting all those stores, a nice fountain here or there, maybe some sculptures or some artsy displays, that sort of thing!

And now - and this will blow your mind - imagine if all those shops were interspersed with little cafés and restaurants and places where you could get an ice cream. You could even sit outside, because, again: no cars! And it would look nice outside! And you could enjoy some coffee, or maybe a burger and some fries. No sad parking lots, no six lane road to get people from the Walmart parking lot to the Target parking lot to the Home Depot parking lot!

People could literally walk - outside!!! - from one store to the next, actually enjoy the experience, stop somewhere for a coffee or a meal, sit under a tree or under an umbrella, feed the pigeons, watch children run around, and get all their shopping done at several stores while actually having a pleasant experience!!

This, my friend, is the revolutionary invention of the American Outdoor Mall!