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Mr. Gruen was largely misunderstood. His rather grand ideas for enclosed shopping spaces were, in the end, almost always eviscerated by developers looking to maximize short-term profits. The average mall was so bland by the time the bean counters finished with it that it bore little to no resemblance to the European piazzas he had dreamed to replace (he was an Austrian, after all). He himself came to speak poorly of malls by his later days.
Of course, even Gruen completely misunderstood just how destructive the private automobile would be. His firm drafted numerous redevelopment plans for struggling downtowns in the 1960's. Two I can think of off of the top of my head, Buffalo, NY and Portland, ME, resulted in highway-type roads that obliterated park space and neighborhoods alike. Of course, the displaced were usually poor, and, ironically (given Gruen's status) immigrants themselves.
We are now seeing a return to more "traditional" styles of retail and commercial development, especially in higher income bracket zip codes that support the construction of expensive structured (and therefore, unseen) parking. The collapse of the mall and the move to big boxes, which eschewed any attempt to create public space, has just proven to be too much for a significant segment of the market.
In the end, these new developments are as much a reflection of the increasing income stratification that is emblematic of the times. The well-to-do need not fear seeing the Wal-Mart crowd at these places, as those in lower incomes cannot afford such largess.
