American landscape architect and D.I.R.T. Studio founder Julie Bargmann describes PARK(ing), a 2,230-square-metre site in Detroit’s Core City neighbourhood, as a green space first and a parking lot second. “Let’s imagine that the whole thing is a crazy wild forest,” she says, “and then you take your eraser and put in as many cars as necessary.”

In this case, that means parking spots for 28 vehicles — each one nestled among a dense thicket of native trees, grasses and flowers. Brought to life by local real estate development and property management company Prince Concepts and designed by Bargmann with Prince’s in-house landscape designer Andrew Schwartz, the site melds greenery with permeable pavers and granite ground covers in a way that recalls the resilient pockets of nature found along railway tracks and sidewalks. “People come and eat lunch in the car just to enjoy the scenery,” says Schwartz. 

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1The site also serves cyclists with a corner bike rack.

2Tall green berms mediate the soil conditions caused by buried refuse from previously demolished buildings while reducing stormwater impact and hiding parked cars from public view.

3Atop a base of white clover, the lot’s 78 trees comprise Blue Point juniper, Autumn Blaze maple, American sweetgum and a wealth of native staghorn sumac.

But the project — which transforms a long-vacant lot — is much more than just a cosmetic intervention. Its precisely sloped berms and porous surfaces absorb and channel rainwater and melting snow, alleviating the risk of flooding. It’s a stark contrast to most surface parking lots, which erase natural landscapes and exacerbate stormwater damage. As Bargmann notes, even when a typical lot does incorporate greenery, “the trees that go in are as manufactured as the cars.” 

A patio set by Hay forms a community gathering place in an especially bucolic corner away from the parking spots.

Of course, for all its organic graces, PARK(ing) is fundamentally still a piece of car infrastructure — and one that occupies a marquee corner site at the neighbourhood’s busiest intersection. But as part of a community where driving is a fundamental way of life, it reflects a sensitivity to local needs and culture.

As Prince Concepts founder Philip Kafka puts it, “American cities have deprioritized walkability in favour of cars and lots for decades. And Detroit was at the epicentre of this soul-crushing movement.” Now, the tables are starting to turn. The city’s new park/parking lot understands its Motor City context but doesn’t acquiesce to a full blown celebration of the automobile. Critically, it is also designed to evolve with the times. The closer you look, the more those angular boundaries between paving and greenery blur — as if to suggest that, someday, all the sumacs and junipers might just reclaim a city built for the car.