Quote:
Originally Posted by samne
Surface parking lots are not all going to disappear soon.
However, they can be less detracting from the urban environment. Chicago and Australian cities do a good job of dressing them up a bit with bushes or fences. The effect is an appearance of less holes in the streetscape.
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Oh yes, I forgot to mention this one. A number of downtown surface lots in Portland are now lined with food carts, which in a sense reconnects surface lots in with the urban environment. A few parking lots are practically lined with food carts on all sides, making the block feel like a variety of food options with some parking you don't really notice in the middle of it. Actually since our food cart craze took off, I have found myself not wanting some surface lots to be redeveloped because I would hate to lose some of the cart culture Portland has created for itself.