Repurposing Parking Space With a ‘Pop-up Apartment’

A New York installation highlights how much urban space is wasted on parking.

1 minute read

October 24, 2023, 12:00 PM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


As New York City weighs a proposal from Mayor Eric Adams to eliminate minimum parking requirements for new developments in the city, a Brooklyn installation aims to publicly illustrate how space devoted to parking can be reimagined for more useful purposes. Janaki Chadha describes the project in Politico.

The installation, built by advocacy group Open Plans, converted two underground parking spaces into a “pop-up studio apartment.” According to Chadha, “The two parking spots used for the one-day installation, which was part of the Open House New York festival, yielded a generously-sized makeshift apartment space, fit with bedroom and living room furniture.”

The proposal would not ban new parking, but rather let developers build it based on demand and cost.

Monday, October 23, 2023 in Politico

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