A Brief Review of
Rethinking A Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking
Eran Ben-Joseph.
Hardcover: MIT Press, 2012.
Buy now: [ Amazon ]
Reviewed by Gary Wake.
Rethinking A Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking feels somewhat like a coffee table book, with about 100 photos showing parking lots from throughout the world and back to the early days of the automobile. The author, Eran Ben-Joseph, has thoroughly researched the topic and put together an overview that captures the environmental and economic impact of parking lots. As a professor at MIT and a city planning expert who has worked all over the world, Ben-Joseph has the credentials to convince us that parking is an issue we should look at more thoroughly, but the material he presents is somewhat lacking in focus.
Ben-Joseph believes poor planning has made parking lots a problem in most cities. Though parking lots have been places to stage plays, host festivals and provide space for worship, many are just ugly and suffer from bad design. They are often wasted space. They can cause drainage problems. Ben-Joseph looks at ways that parking lots, a necessary part of city planning, can be improved to lessen their negative economic and environmental impact.
The book feels like a collage; pictures and words put together to give an overall sense of what Ben-Joseph wants to say. Some of the book, like the diagrams on parking conditions and parking lot typologies, feels like it was put together for his MIT students. Other sections, like the short mentions of drive-in church, flea markets and weekend food vendor gatherings, seem to be aimed at community planners. Black and white photos of old cars and parking lots seem geared towards casual browsing. Historians may find interest in the parking problems from chariots and horse drawn buggies.
This collage feel may be exactly what the author intends, but it makes it hard to determine who the intended audience might be. The student, the community planner, the browser and the historian, like many of us, have a vested interest in parking but finding a lens to focus Eran Ben-Joseph’s work here would have been more helpful.
The Englewood Review’s Best Books of the first half of 2012:
C. Christopher Smith is the founding editor of The Englewood Review of Books. He is also author of a number of books, including most recently How the Body of Christ Talks: Recovering the Practice of Conversation in the Church (Brazos Press, 2019). Connect with him online at: C-Christopher-Smith.com
 Reading for the Common Good From ERB Editor Christopher Smith "This book will inspire, motivate and challenge anyone who cares a whit about the written word, the world of ideas, the shape of our communities and the life of the church." -Karen Swallow Prior Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter & download your FREE copy of this ebook! |
Understanding Christian Nationalism [A Reading Guide] |
 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall for Christian Readers!
|
 Hilarious One-Star Customer Reviews of Bibles |
