parking crater

parking crater (plural parking craters)

1. (urban studies, derogatory) A large parking lot or set of contiguous parking lots in the middle of a city, forming a pronounced gap in the urban fabric.
   • 2016 January 14, David Z. Morris, “L.A.’s Massive ‘Crater’ Shows Why Parking Is the Biggest Fight in Urban Planning”, in Fortune:

     But the L.A. graphic turns the parking crater into a broader metaphor for the tradeoffs that a car-centric city like Los Angeles has made to accommodate cars. Without all that parking, the map seems to scream at us, look how much more city L.A. could have!

   • 2018 April 20, Eric Lacy, quoting Angie Schmitt, “Golden Crater: A national championship trophy Lansing isn't proud of”, in Lansing State Journal:

     It's a little bit subjective, but the idea is sort of 'What’s the biggest opportunity cost?' […] Which parking crater is the biggest waste of opportunity by the city?

   • 2019 August 29, Brian Addison, “There are 83 acres of parking lots in Downtown Long Beach alone. That could be over 12,000 housing units.”, in Long Beach Post:

     Dodger Stadium? Originally land set aside for low-income housing, its massive parking crater could be home to over 21,000 places for people to have a roof over their head.