Houston is a weird mix of both, perhaps as a result of its impressive sprawl. There are dozens of abandoned malls, and dozens of thriving ones. Perhaps land is so cheap that it's just easier to build a new one than to renovate an older one. Gives a weird feeling: by the numbers Houston's economy is booming, but experientially it feels sort of post-industrial, with abandoned properties dotting the landscape.

Houston still weirds me out this way. I stayed in a warehouse near Dynamo for a year or so, in one direction it was a dystopian hell hole and in the other a booming-soon-to-be-hip area. I think that our lack of zoning laws makes this cycle even stranger compared to the rest of the country.

Thunderdome?

Right, malls are dying in certain areas and flourishing in others. As demographic shifts continue to happen across geographies (and those shifts only seem to be increasing), the very concept of a stationary location of offline commerce ceases to be flexible enough. I don't discount the fact that many or all people would want to try on a $1200 jacket before buying it; simply that the retail model that will thrive in the coming decades involves much greater mobility than a static large shopping center can provide.

Not sure how long you've lived there but the mall I think you're referring to (utc) was remodeled not long ago. The clientele in the area has gotten more upscale and the re-design and new stores (upscale restaurants, tesla, etc) reflects on this. Fwiw based on trying to go there for lunch, foot traffic has never been better.