MYTOWN: On Ohio State's Sea of Garage Rooftops

Back in June of 2008 I took the opportunity to explore the majority of Ohio State's parking garage upper decks. I went with the hope to see over some of the adjacent neighborhoods and gain perspective on the distance I traveled as I went garage hopping. It struck me that, these large seas of concrete are impressive and even worth programmatic study. In Fall, known to all of Ohio as Football Season brings moderate activity to the perimeter edges of some garages -usually Tuttle and the North West garages where fans look down on the heavy crowds tailgating and enjoy gameday preparation.

What then are these top layers of parking garages when football is not at home, when school is not in session? To me, a recent graduate, I dreamed of lost opportunities, I dreamed of the perfect makeshift date or the site of many fine "bean-bag toss" aka. cornhole tournaments in the late summer heat before commencing our rigorous studies. But I also had more important dreams about these beautifully barren deserts. From a modest standpoint these top layers could be designed for a porous parking system, one that grows and shades it's surface while still available for the high demand of parking during peak times. Perhaps these top levels should not be for parking at all. Take the 12th Avenue garage on the north edge of the OSU Medical campus, the top two levels are enclosed structure. There you can find researchers working in desert and tropical greenhouses.

Decks could vary in potential use, perhaps in more residential areas they could be used for community movie screenings, or the site of intramural sporting events: winter hockey, summer basketball. On decks like the Cannon Drive garage, which is easily 1.5x the length of a football field and located next to...more parking, perhaps the upper deck is shielded with an array of photo-voltaic cells to aid the energy consuming med-campus. Or perhaps with light-rail in the city's future a top deck can be given to the Colleges of Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Resources where the deck could be the testing ground for future solar decathlon projects, different green-roofs could be studied and a sure icon to boast to the nation for taking such a bold measure to give more to the students!

To refer to the writings in A City is not a Tree by Christopher Alexander, and make a point of my own, we can take an important step in adding diversity to our cities by making catalytic implementations to our existing urban fabric. The ideas are out there, the money can be found, the volunteers can be drawn up, the studies can pay dividends, and the car commuters can move closer to where they work and try public transit for a change!