With apologies for creating this stub and then leaving it as essentially a dictionary definition, I have revived this article and added to it, in order to avoid the aforementioned problem with it being too brief. I have now added well-cited examples, along with a section on common ways cities combat this urban malady. Feel free to add additional information. Please do not delete or redirect the page without discussion. (I believe that the previous redirection/deletion of this page without discussion went against the relevant deletion-candidate template's specified 7-day waiting period). If further discussion regarding this topic is needed, please mention it here in the talk section (or even go ahead and make the changes) rather than deleting/redirecting without notice. Rindslicit (talk) 19:39, 18 May 2017 (UTC)
Update in June: I have reverted another merge attempt, which appears to have been made in haste. I repeat my request: If suggesting a merge or deletion, please post notice ahead of time, so a robust conversation can be had on the need for and/or method of conversion. If we're allowing Wrap Rage to exist as a topic, then I am sure that we can at least allow a thorough conversation to take place before deleting this one capriciously as POV. (I had nothing to do with the creation or pre-wikipedia propagation of this term, by the way, so it certainly does not reflect my POV -- see sources.) I am definitely open to having people change the language on the page in order to encourage neutrality, and I am not entirely closed to the idea of a merge, but the way in which the most recent merge attempt was gone about -- redirecting a reasonably well-sourced article toward another article without modifying that destination article to even mention the topic, with insufficient advance notice -- essentially amounts to a vandalism action. With that in mind, any future actions of this type will be reverted as quickly as possible. Rindslicit (talk) 06:08, 10 June 2017 (UTC)
Many reflect re purposing rail yards, or structures associated with rail
It's a bit funny to see how many of the page-one Google hits for "parking crater" reflect something a little different from the article's putative subject, dense areas of buildings are torn down in order to facilitate free or low-priced parking for commuters.
9 hits, four of which are essentially the same, explanations of the meaning of the term. Then we have articles on the Denver -old rail yards, Boston -Fan Pier area...i.e., also old rail yards. We have articles on poor use of land near (newbuild) transit stations. Finally, we have a metaphorical use, what LA County would look like if all he parking were clumped at the center]. (A donut, of course.) Anmccaff (talk) 06:48, 16 June 2017 (UTC)