parking crater

plural parking craters

1. derogatoryurban studiesA large parking lot or set of contiguous parking lots in the middle of a city, forming a pronounced gap in the urban fabric.

   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?

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

   2 more examples

   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!

   2016 January 14, David Z. Morris, “L.A.’s Massive ‘Crater’ Shows Why Parking Is the Biggest Fight in Urban Planning”, in Fortune

   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.

   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