Ray Sawhill

Another entry in my record of dud spaces.

Here's an open area with grass and trees around the base of a high-rise apartment building. Despite the appeal of the greenery, the reality is that the space isn't used, or even much enjoyed by passersby.

That's probably because the space hasn't been created as a something -- as a small park, or as a playground, for instance. Instead, it's just what has been left behind as the building has been pulled back from the sidewalk. We're left not with airy life, but with stray, random emptiness.

Which, as dead space often does, attracts throwaways. Do you suppose the development's designers included the green garbage bins in their original drawings?