The New Shopping Mall

 

What will be the new mall? We didn’t go to the mall to shop, we went to be around people, color, and activity (with some fun shopping along the way.) We wanted to touch clothes and be surprised by displays and new products. We pine for a communal experience and the physicality of the real world. Maybe malls are churches of consumerism, but I think they are much more. We smell perfume and hear laughter with the gentle wash of shuffling feet. We see colors, we feel textures, and peek around displays.

It was a place to be alone together.

We no longer share experiences at the movie theater nor do we watch the same television shows. We share experiences with our tribe, nobly led by influencers and celebrities. We live a brand lifestyle.

Shopping now belongs to the internet, but we still need to get together. We don’t go to coffee shops for coffee – we go to be with people. We go to immerse ourselves in an environment where pleasant aromas are an honored perception and the pseudo-intellectual vibe compels us to write in our journals and have deep conversations.

However, we need a new mall, a destination to escape the heat or the cold and be with other lonely hearts. It was a place to play make believe games with my kids while surrounded by a safe, pleasant environment. The new mall might be a gaming center with unique foods. It will have some infrastructure that justifies our trip. Maybe VR and fresh spices. Maybe live entertainment and interactive games. These will draw us together as we enjoy our wearable technology and play communal games, pausing to nibble on wasabi-infused couscous on a bed of sun-dried kale.

Whatever it is, we need a new shopping mall experience.

Instructor Bias in Higher Education

This has been in my syllabus for a number of years and I try hard to follow it. The lectern should not be used for unfair advantages. Faculty have opinions, but opinions on many topics can be unfairly imputed onto students. 

Instructor Bias

My goal is that you learn how to think and not what to think.  By its nature, design requires creative (and very human) approaches.  These approaches can be influenced by tradition and an experientially rooted bias.  Your educational experience should not include receiving any sort of instructor indoctrination.

Where controversial issues arise, I may present information from sources representing differing views from which you can develop your own opinion.  These writings will be appropriate and professional presentations of the topics.  However, unlike me, you have the right to present your opinions in class, which other students can debate.  As an instructor with an unfair access to the podium, I do not share in that privilege.  Think for yourself!  However, design critiques are an important part of design education and these critiques should not be taken personally, they are intended for your benefit.

What about my dioxin footprint?

Carbon footprint has become a simplistic tagline for environmental impact. This term seems to discount concerns for profoundly hazardous chemicals. There are 187 hazardous air pollutants, that in the US, are controlled by the EPA. I have them listed at the bottom.

These pollutants can cause things such as cancer, birth defects, impaired lung function, and reduced fertility. They can also cause harm to the nervous system, cardiovascular, and brain.

I worry more about mercury and dioxin footprint than carbon footprint. I think the old-fashioned word “pollution” is better than “carbon footprint”. Everyone concerned with the environment should understand the notion of embodied energy, which considers the energy (and pollution) associated with a product, including things we don’t think about, such as mining, transportation, administration, disposal, etc.

Bad products that are expensive and then soon discarded always have a high embodied energy. Recycling has environmental impact, which is why reducing consumption is at the top of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra. Likewise, sequestering carbon artificially is not environmentally neutral – I’m a big fan of living trees for obvious reasons!

Personally, I think fine particulates (e.g., PM2.5) are the biggest immediate pollution concern. It is very sad to watch children running around outside enjoying the use of their healthy lungs and bodies while breathing all the nasty particulates in which we immerse them.

What level of sophistication is required by people that regulate us?

EPA’s Current List of Air Toxics

Acetaldehyde

Acetamide

Acetonitrile

Acetophenone

2-Acetylaminofluorene

Acrolein

Acrylamide

Acrylic acid

Acrylonitrile

Allyl chloride

4-Aminobiphenyl

Aniline

o-Anisidine

Asbestos

Benzene (including benzene from gasoline)

Benzidine

Benzotrichloride

Benzyl chloride

Biphenyl

Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP)

Bis(chloromethyl)ether

Bromoform

1,3-Butadiene

Calcium cyanamide

Caprolactam

Captan

Carbaryl

Carbon disulfide

Carbon tetrachloride

Carbonyl sulfide

Catechol

Chloramben

Chlordane

Chlorine

Chloroacetic acid

2-Chloroacetophenone

Chlorobenzene

Chlorobenzilate

Chloroform

Chloromethyl methyl ether

Chloroprene

Cresols/Cresylic acid (isomers and mixture)

o-Cresol

m-Cresol

p-Cresol

Cumene

2,4-D, salts and esters

DDE

Diazomethane

Dibenzofurans

1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane

Dibutylphthalate

1,4-Dichlorobenzene(p)

3,3-Dichlorobenzidene

Dichloroethyl ether (Bis(2-chloroethyl)ether)

1,3-Dichloropropene

Dichlorvos

Diethanolamine

N,N-Dimethylaniline

Diethyl sulfate

3,3-Dimethoxybenzidine

Dimethyl aminoazobenzene

3,3'-Dimethyl benzidine

Dimethyl carbamoyl chloride

Dimethyl formamide

1,1-Dimethyl hydrazine

Dimethyl phthalate

Dimethyl sulfate

4,6-Dinitro-o-cresol, and salts

2,4-Dinitrophenol

2,4-Dinitrotoluene

1,4-Dioxane (1,4-Diethyleneoxide)

1,2-Diphenylhydrazine

Epichlorohydrin (l-Chloro-2,3-epoxypropane)

1,2-Epoxybutane

Ethyl acrylate

Ethyl benzene

Ethyl carbamate (Urethane)

Ethyl chloride (Chloroethane)

Ethylene dibromide (Dibromoethane)

Ethylene dichloride (1,2-Dichloroethane)

Ethylene glycol

Ethylene imine (Aziridine)

Ethylene oxide

Ethylene thiourea

Ethylidene dichloride (1,1-Dichloroethane)

Formaldehyde

Heptachlor

Hexachlorobenzene

Hexachlorobutadiene

Hexachlorocyclopentadiene

Hexachloroethane

Hexamethylene-1,6-diisocyanate

Hexamethylphosphoramide

Hexane

Hydrazine

Hydrochloric acid

Hydrogen fluoride (Hydrofluoric acid)

Hydrogen sulfide

Hydroquinone

Isophorone

Lindane (all isomers)

Maleic anhydride

Methanol

Methoxychlor

Methyl bromide (Bromomethane)

Methyl chloride (Chloromethane)

Methyl chloroform (1,1,1-Trichloroethane)

Methyl ethyl ketone (2-Butanone)

Methyl hydrazine

Methyl iodide (Iodomethane)

Methyl isobutyl ketone (Hexone)

Methyl isocyanate

Methyl methacrylate

Methyl tert butyl ether

4,4-Methylene bis(2-chloroaniline)

Methylene chloride (Dichloromethane)

Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)

4,4'-Methylenedianiline

Naphthalene

Nitrobenzene

4-Nitrobiphenyl

4-Nitrophenol

2-Nitropropane

N-Nitroso-N-methylurea

N-Nitrosodimethylamine

N-Nitrosomorpholine

Parathion

Pentachloronitrobenzene (Quintobenzene)

Pentachlorophenol

Phenol

p-Phenylenediamine

Phosgene

Phosphine

Phosphorus

Phthalic anhydride

Polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclors)

1,3-Propane sultone

beta-Propiolactone

Propionaldehyde

Propoxur (Baygon)

Propylene dichloride (1,2-Dichloropropane)

Propylene oxide

1,2-Propylenimine (2-Methyl aziridine)

Quinoline

Quinone

Styrene

Styrene oxide

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin

1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane

Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene)

Titanium tetrachloride

Toluene

2,4-Toluene diamine

2,4-Toluene diisocyanate

o-Toluidine

Toxaphene (chlorinated camphene)

1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene

1,1,2-Trichloroethane

Trichloroethylene

2,4,5-Trichlorophenol

2,4,6-Trichlorophenol

Triethylamine

Trifluralin

2,2,4-Trimethylpentane

Vinyl acetate

Vinyl bromide

Vinyl chloride

Vinylidene chloride (1,1-Dichloroethylene)

Xylenes (isomers and mixture)

o-Xylenes

m-Xylenes

p-Xylenes

Antimony Compounds

Arsenic Compounds (inorganic including arsine)

Beryllium Compounds

Cadmium Compounds

Chromium Compounds

Cobalt Compounds

Coke Oven Emissions

Cyanide Compounds

Glycol ethers

Lead Compounds

Manganese Compounds

Mercury Compounds

Fine mineral fibers

Nickel Compounds

Polycyclic Organic Matter

Radionuclides (including radon)

Selenium Compounds

Source:  https://www.epa.gov/haps/initial-list-hazardous-air-pollutants-modifications