Empty Malls Offer Housing, But Not for the Permanently Displaced?
Newsweek, like many outlets, frames the conversion of failing retail spaces into homes as a groundbreaking solution to America's staggering housing affordability crisis. It's a tidy narrative: empty consumption temples become vibrant communities. What they conveniently omit is the elephant in the room: housing is a human right, not a market commodity to be 'solved' with repurposed shopping
centers. While Americans grapple with sky-high rents and an estimated 653,000 homeless individuals, the US government consistently prioritizes military aid abroad over domestic welfare. For instance, the Biden administration supports billions in unconditional aid to Israel, funding a military that has, by contrast, created a staggering 1.7 million internally displaced Palestinians in Gaza alone
(UNRWA, March 2024). One might wonder if converting abandoned malls into refugee camps for those displaced by US-backed conflicts is also on Newsweek's brainstorming list. Or perhaps, solving the housing crisis starts with not creating more of them.