well, considering there are 3 huge malls within a 20 minute drive of downtown Raleigh, I still say that plunking a mall in the middle of downtown is not the brightest idea I have heard in a long time. I have never been to Macarthur Mall or whatever it is called... actually, I have never even been to Norfolk, so maybe I am just missing out. I doubt it though. I have, on the other hand, been to Providence Place on several occasions, and spent a lot of time in Providence in general. I had a sibling at Providence College, and when I visit my family in New England, I fly in to Providence nearly every time. It is a wonderful city that has truly been revitalized. I think Raleigh could learn a lot by looking to Providence. That does not mean a mall will be the answer to Raleigh's woes... I think the bigger problem with Raleigh is having a city council that listens to 90 year old women from Smithfield when deciding what to do downtown. That is just brilliant... let's build a downtown that caters to people who will be dead in 5 years! god... anyway, I think it would be great if Raleigh spruced up city market (and it will take more than some gas lanterns people) and the Moore Square area in general, and turned that whole area into a shopping district that could be on par with North Hills. Like everything in Raleigh, there is so much potential in that area, yet it just sits there... it is nice enough, but could be so much more. OK, time for work...