The Perfect Holiday Gift for Commercial Clients

Learn history, importance and future of parking lots in ReThinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking

When was the last time you found the perfect holiday gift to send to your commercial customers? Candy, cookies, fruit of the month (or fruitcakes?), dining gift cards, tickets... all are holiday staples and serve the purpose, but we've found something that does that job and directly reminds clients of what you can do for them.

It's a book titled ReThinking a Lot: The Design and Culture of Parking by Eran Ben-Joseph, available as of this morning in hardcover for $16.30 on Amazon. It was published earlier this year -- so it's unlikley they'll have already read it -- and it covers the history, development, transformation and possible future of parking lots, with a number of interesting photos past and present (including an overhead shot of a well-used lot severely in need of sealcoating and striping) that do a nice job illustrating many of the points Ben-Joseph makes. He says, for example, that parking lots have become modern day "commons" and he makes a pretty good case for it.

As the introduction states, the book "...celebrates both the existing and the potential lot. It embraces the surface lot, does not reject it, and strives to raise awareness of its importance. In the process it also gives attention to the lot's history, its potential for design innovation, future change and modification, and environmental and cultural promise."

And to make sure readers are more than entertained, Ben-Joseph offers tips for drivers looking to find the scarce parking space in crowded holiday malls, including:

* Take the first spot you find. It will take you longer to find another space than it will to find an empty space closer to the door.

* Target a parking space away from entrances and midway between two entrances and you'll likely find a space immediately.

* If a lot is truly full don't keep driving around. Park yourself at the end of an aisle and wait: Ben-Joseph cites rsearch indicating a lot will open within nine minutes.

 

 

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