>>1990990
>Malls don't typically have residential components
And that's why these underground networks have a lot more flexibility, by basically combining street-level stuff with malls (and can integrate with actual malls, like the CF Toronto Eaton Centre example above, though Houston's doesn't have much in the way of downtown malls unless you count The Shops at Houston Center, which is basically a food court now).

>which don't hold a candle to a well-crafted streetscape.
With all due respect, I don't believe a "well-crafted streetscape" happens organically, usually brought upon by developers and/or owners working together, with the government sometimes taking a role. Almost every example of "well-crafted streetscape" and "catering to tourists/people with money" is almost a perfect circle.

>many malls couldn't make in-person shopping better than doing it online
You can also kind of see that with downtown shopping too. Even when malls were at their peaks, department stores maintained their flagship store in most cities. While many had closed over the years prior, in 2005-2006 Macy's gained downtown stores in Chicago (Marshall Field's), Portland (Meier & Frank), Houston (Foley's), Pittsburgh (Kaufmann's), and Miami (Burdines). Sears also had a number of stand-alone downtown locations, but like Macy's these closed as the chains deteriorated.

>No different than an anchor tenant. The Shops at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California added a 99 Ranch Market, but that was a consequence of its continued success in attracting Asians.
When it comes to malls, the anchor tenants always had an exterior entrance (sometimes they'd have an entrance just right inside, most of the mall Kmart stores did this). The Safeway in Crystal City closed in 2005 (and from further reading, did have an exterior entrance and parking area despite its smaller-than-average size at 17k square feet), with the lost parking cited as part of its closure.

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Downtown tunnel/"underground cities"/skywalk systems are literally everything urbanists seem to want--a pedestrian-oriented true…