Page 296 - Beyond Decommissioning

Experience and lessons learned 277

2. Unused parking lots are suitable for farming. Once you remove the asphalt and get the soil in
order, parking lots are flat land that can readily be converted into farmland. One example is
the Farmers Assisting Returning Military (F.A.R.M.) organization in Dallas, TX. One of the
advantages of converting parking lots into farmland is that, unlike housing, which may
require a larger amount of space, a farm can take just a fraction of a parking lot, while
the remaining space remains in use for car parking.
3. Recently, there have been several cities choosing to convert parking into parks. As with
farmland, parks only need flat, empty land. On a smaller scale, street parking spaces are often
turned into mini parks offering outdoor seating and cafe spaces.
4. As a minimum, you can make better use of a parking lot by turning a portion of the space into
a food truck area or just chairs and tables for guests to sit and eat their snacks.
Converting existing garages is a serious challenge. These large buildings are difficult
to readapt to residential purposes because they are deep structures mostly lacking
exposure to natural light. They are also costly to transform because the high ceilings
required for a parking garage means less space for offices or residential spaces.
Further, many parking garages were built on a slope to allow water drain easily
from the building; large ramps throughout the building are another problem for res-
idential reuse. Currently more attention is being giventofuture-proofgarages for
easy transition to residential and other uses, as it is expected that autonomous and
shared vehicles will in future demand less parking space (Curbed, 2017b;
Dreamit, 2018).

Disclaimer

Websites accessed on 29 December 2018.

References

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https://3dvdt.com/oaklands-brooklyn-basin-9th-ave-terminal-to-be-preserved-2/
(Accessed on 29 December 2018).
99% Invisible, 2016. New Uses for Old Digs: Excavating & Adapting Underground Architec-
ture. 22 August 2016. https://99percentinvisible.org/article/new-uses-old-digs-excavat
ing-adapting-underground-architecture (Accessed on 29 December 2018).
Abandoned America, 2018. https://www.abandonedamerica.us/carrie-furnaces. (Accessed on
29 December 2018).
ABC, 2015. ABC Central West NSW, Grand Designs: From Water Tank to Family Home. 5
November, 2015. http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2015/11/05/4345613.htm (Accessed
on 29 December 2018).
Adams, T.M., et al., 2013. Dry storage of research reactor spent nuclear fuel. In: WM 2013 Con-
ference, February 24–28, 2013, Phoenix, AZ. http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2013/
papers/13321.pdf (Accessed on 29 December 2018).
ADP, 2014. ADP Joins Campaign to Save Didcot Power Station Cooling Towers. 1 April 2014.
http://www.adp-architecture.com/news/adp-joins-campaign-to-save-didcot-power-
station-cooling-towers (Accessed on 29 December 2018).