August 14, 2014
Earlier this year, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) unveiled new ideas for public housing--in a parking lot on its Atlanta campus. SCADpads, as they're called, reimagined the common public park space as a solution to the growing need for sustainable, efficient housing worldwide.
Now, a team of architect-fellows at the Institute for Public Architecture are building on the same idea, proposing ways to turn unused public parking spaces in New York City into housing, co-working spaces, bike-share stations, playgrounds, and farmers markets. The group is called 9 x 18, the size of a typical parking spot, and they have reevaluated the current zoning laws surrounding parking and affordable housing, using the Carver Houses in East Harlem neighborhood as a case study.
More about the new ideas