I have been photographing parking lot paint jobs for a while (see Parking Lot Photography, Derelict Parking Lot, Aging Parking Lot Segment, Parking Lot Impasto).
Brand New Paint Job with Chalk Line
I always thought that the black color of the parking lot was due to the natural color of asphalt. But the streaks of black on the yellow rubber bumpy pad appear to be paint.
If the lines and parking spaces in these lots are painted, wouldn’t it make sense to paint the larger areas white? I understand that large white areas of pavement help cool the surroundings. There is a pilot project in California to see if this white pavement can provide relief from the heat.
If it is like here, the asphalt is black but it bleaches out over time, and then they come and spray more black stuff all over it (this process just went on at my local grocery store). I guess it freshens the look. I wonder what a white lot would be like. Cooler, I can see that, but hard on the eyes? In Philadelphia, (I live in a suburb of this city) there is a movement to get the flat roofs of rowhomes a white coating – these homes are very hot in summer with their black tar roofs and no air circulation, being attached . Your post made me think of that, too.
Yeah, probably the sun glasses industry would see a boom in business, with white pavement. Thanks, Claudia!