According to cultural theorist Peter Gibian, shopping malls derive from 1920-30s California car culture. The basic mall type -- "a cluster of stores surrounded by seeming acres of barren parking lot" -- stems from Southern California's wide open spaces and endless freeways. However, while malls in places with less temperate climates make sense (snow, rain and cold can be avoided while shopping in them), L.A.'s weather is one of the best in the world. Why are malls so popular in an area that doesn't really need them? Gibian identifies two basic architectural tenets in mall design -- self-containment and introversion. In Los Angeles these qualities provide order and security in a city that is often experienced as disorderly and decentered.

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