Parking Lots

"Lots of Excellence" and "Lots On My Mind"

I have done research and have studied the effects that impervious surfaces have on urban environments, so when I started reading these articles, I had an already biased opinion on parking lots. I understand the necessity of parking lots and I completely agree with what was said of their perception in "A Lot on My Mind" as "...a necessary evil: unsightly, but essential to the market success of most developments." I understand their use in the everyday world, I understand what having parking lots allows us to do, and how it allows us to travel.

It is too hard to say that parking lots should not exist, that is an impossible request, and no amount of planning will change how the U.S. is in terms of driving. Parking lots were the initial element that allowed people to live far away and commute to work. It enabled the idea of suburbia. And while it did provide flexibility and opportunity, it also has great effects on cities.

            However, while reading both "Lots of Excellence" and "A Lot on My Mind" it altered my opinion of this "necessary evil". "Lots of Excellence" discusses "A Lot for Kids" in which business owners would turn over the parking lot to the open public, mainly aimed at kids, after business hours. This was done in hopes of cutting down vandalism and helping keep kids out of trouble. This type of trust and allowance between business owners and the children of the community does not only shows a progressive step forward in creating a stronger bond in the community but also creates moments in communities where kids who may not have access to public recreational areas get a chance to step outside and engage with other kids in the area.

            In another section of "Lots of Excellence" there was the idea of using parking lots as canvases for art. Ideas like this that engage the community, help to change a single purpose use lot, into something that fosters engagement within the community, and allow something that takes up so much space in an environment designed for people, used for cars, to be reclaimed at least partly for the use of people.

            As great and hopeful as these ideas are, and even though there are applications for other uses for parking lots being done, the many outweigh the few. I believe that there are more parking lots, which will continue their single-use purpose than ones that will opt for any extracurricular activities to be done at their location. In theory, if more parking lots implemented these ideas and concepts, the activities held on them, in my opinion, would outweigh the negative effects caused by them on the environment because it would allow people a place to gather and to use as a recreation space, or to do art, or any other number of things, similar to the idea of Shakespeare’s Lot also referenced in “Lots of Excellence.”

            I enjoy the idea of the community being brought together at the local grocery store parking lot on a Friday after work, but I think that there may not be enough trust in the community for events to happen there. There could be worries that gathering more people to the parking lot after hours could increase the risk of the store getting damaged or trash being left for the store workers to pick up in the morning. However, maybe my view is a little too pessimistic, and maybe people will take this opportunity and care for the space provided to them, understanding that opening their property for public use means that there is an unspoken agreement of respect for one's property. In theory, the idea of outside use of parking lots is great, however, I do not believe that it will take effect and that it will give another life and use to parking lots.