How do the song lyrics by Joni Mitchell go? “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” Well, quite the opposite is true in many parts of the world, where cities are dedicating themselves to turning once unused or dilapidated parking lots into paradises of recreation for their people.
According to Adele Peters of Fast Company, there are many benefits to creating resident-friendly spaces in cities, and these benefits go beyond improving the happiness and life quality of citizens. “As climate change makes heat waves more common and average summer temperatures rise, parks can help offset the urban ‘heat island’ effect that makes neighbourhoods around paved surfaces even hotter,” explains Peters. The researcher adds that, in many cities, parking lots are one of the worst urban heat islands.
Cities Forum states that more and more cities are “carving out” new public spaces for their residents. In this article, Vice President and Director of City Park Development Adrian Benepe states: “I can’t imagine a worse use of land in a downtown area than a surface parking lot.”
Let’s take a look at the cities looking to make a positive impact and building resilient environments out of old parking lots.