Summary: The Socialization Of Parking

Before the spark of cars’ popularity, society was designed and built around one thing; humans and our desire to socialize. In the earliest days of cars, parking was not a huge deal seen as how most people could not afford such a luxury; soon however, came the large-scale production of cars at affordable prices and cars began to encroach upon society. Jumping to modern-day, we fully acknowledge the need for adequate parking, yet we still choose to sacrifice huge portions of land to automobiles when not in use. By implementing structured parking into areas where people go to gather we instantly reclaim large plots of land that can then be used for many more social purposes; cafes and small businesses can begin to develop around these structures,

After successful development of parking garage the most ideal outcome would be that small business, such as cafes or restaurants move in. Childs puts it well in his book when he notes that, “local businesses will be supported by those who park and walk past on their journeys to and from campus.”(Childs, 46). In the early days of parking, cars used to take up so much room it literally began to destroy the way people socialized. During the boom of the automobile, Chicago began to experience the problems that came along with people wanting to socialize and the boom of the automobile. Many places did not anticipate the space needed for cars, but a few did; as Cremin mentions in his book, Grant Park : The Evolution of Chicago 's Front Yard, “The Chicago Park District, in anticipation of the increased parking demands that the Prudential Building would make on the area, constructed a large underground parking lot within Grant Park.”(Cremin, 137). The purpose of having this lot was to provide adequate parking for people with intent to visit the

In the past, areas designed best to accommodate parked cars were largely considered non social, people going to these areas often found themselves in a sea of motionless cars and people hurrying to clear the area for yet more cars. What the addition of structured parking will allow is the creation of more areas for people to go in order to join together and socialize; after more social areas begin to surround these structures people begin to create a new social dynamic where people are not in a hurry to get in and get out; instead people begin to frequent the surround businesses and socialize with friends or meet new