This should absolutely be the case, and I support this as a developer/architect

Malls are not efficient use of real estate, and high-density housing can still support ground level retail and F&B without wasting the majority of land on brick and mortar for big businesses that are already transitioning mainly to direct-to-consumer and ecommerce

Outdoor malls are a different case, such as the Irvine Spectrum, Grove, Promenade, etcetera-- mainly because that is a completely different class of real estate compared to the malls that are failing.

We don't need millions of square feet of indoor shopping that is only activated until 8-10pm when it can be developed into apartment/condominiums with retail and restaurants on the bottom level. When you do that, you accommodate a better use of the land by increasing the inventory of housing in California (which is largely short of what is needed) but you also create a safer area due to the foot/vehicle traffic occurring at all hours. Additionally, housing supports brick and mortar, grocers and small businesses a lot more than destination travelers/shoppers.