apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Depressing and yet fascinating.
I think it would be best to use the existing hardscape instead of tearing it down, even for natural space - but then, I'm a mad container gardener, and concrete is no obstacle for me. Hey, wasn't there some guy trying to convince people that produce should be grown in giant skyscraper greenhouses in the cities where it would be consumed? I suppose the light still wouldn't be right...

The idea of a sort of indoor bazaar, permanent or otherwise, appeals to me. The space also might make a novel see-through nightclub or roller rink.

Community centers. Absolutely.

Schools would be great. All those windows! I'd love to have a classroom in there. And you could set up a basketball hoop in the parking lot.

Green space! Knock 'em down and make community food gardens.

My 60 year old father works in a GM dealership, so I'm already in a bad frame of mine about these closings. But I would caution that between gasoline runoff , oil leaks, etc. that dealerships would need to be put through some massive cleanup efforts before I would feel safe eating food grown there.

I find any of these suggestions highly unlikely and very unrealistic (nearly to the point of belittling the financial reality of the situation). those lots aren't just free space. dealers either a.) owned their lots and will desperately try to sell them off for as much as they can to try to recoupe some of the massie amounts of money they are losing by being shut down or b.) these are leased lots and the owners will try to find something to replace the dealerships with tenants that will be able to pay equally high rent (the more likely scenario). community centers? forget it. especially with all of the tax dollars that cities will now be lacking when dealerships are closed down, (the town I grew up in, for example, has now lost 7 dealerships and will definitely feel it in the local economy). and I don't think community gardens or fields of flowers pay much rent.

I like your thinking Mckate

This is 'news'? Come on, re-nest, you can do better. And this is a really insensitive time to post something like this. Let the workers at least file for unemployment first.

I would buy one of the properties and greenovate it into a flat for my family. All those Windows!!! Let alone the garages that come with it LOL. My husband would LOVE that! I think the only thing I would have an issue with is the parking lot outside.... what to do with all that concrete?!?!? Put clean fill over the top of it which wouldn't give you very much depth to plant anything but grass? Or tear it up and have to find something to do with all the left over concrete slabs that you would accumulate? I'm sure I would figure something out after a while of thinking it through though. Thanks for the post! Now I am off to daydream of all the possibilities!!!

I live near a city where one neighborhood was practically created by sprawl. There are plans in the works to retrofit it, making it more walkable and bringing in transit. However, it's right next door to what is known as Auto Row—tons and tons of dealerships. Ironically enough, the dealerships were worried the redevelopment would negatively impact their businesses, but now they have other things to deal with. I think the larger buildings could be redeveloped as storefronts, and the parking lots could become green areas or sources for urban infill. There's really no need to tear them all down and start over again (but that may be necessary for some buildings). I think the parking lots will be the easiest to deal with. You can never have too many parks.